Comparative Anatomy Of Leaves And Stems Of Six Varieties Of Cocoyam:-Eke, David Chinonso

ABSTRACT

The study investigated on the comparative anatomy of the leaves and stems of six varieties of cocoyam. From the result obtained from this investigation, it has shown that, there are similarities in the stem ofthese varieties. The mesophyll ofthe lamina where differentiated into palisade and parenchyma layer in all the varieties. While there are various shape of epidermal cell observed in there epidermis. The varieties of cocoyam investigated were observed to be hypostomatic while JP/fND/152, NceOOl and Nsx Oil were amphistomatic. The epidermal cell walls varied from straight to curve in all the varieties. The cortical cells of these varieties were observed to vary from straight to circular, while some were observed to be hexagonal in shape. These observations of anatomical properties of these varieties will be a useful tool in the classification of different varieties of cocoyam.