Abstract:A comparative study was undertaken on the leaves of eight Uvaria, threeCyathostemma and one Ellipeia species in order to investigate interspecific anatomicaldifferences which could be useful in species identification and their taxonomic significance.Anatomical characters that are of significance are terminal sclereids, druses in epidermalcells, trichomes, brachysclereids in parenchymatous tissues of midribs and petioles, and theshape of midribs and petioles in transverse sections. Certain features are present in certainspecies only and are thus useful for species identification. The results also show that thethree genera are quite closely related.
