Anatomical Studies On The Roots Of Some Vigna Savi Species (Leguminosae Papilionoideae)

Anatomical studies on the roots of eight Vigna sp. namely V. ambacensis, V. gracillis, V. racemosa, V. reticulata, V. subterranea, V. triloba, V. unguiculata and V. vexillata are reported in this study. An analysis of the features of the internal arrangement of the roots shows that these taxa possess vital taxonomic characters that could be used to establish interspecific relationships among these taxa. An interesting aspect of the root anatomy of these taxa is the presence of 3 prominent epidermal hairs in V. vexillata which distinguished this taxon from the rest of the taxa studied. Their vessels varied in size and number, they are small and numerous in V. subterranea, V. ambacensis and V. reticulata but big and few in V. gracillis, V. vexillata and V. unguiculata. In this studied, there is concentration of vascular bundles at the central part of the root cortex hence the endodermis is not clearly differentiated. V. subterranea is characterized with crystal sand and two or three vessels that appear together at different locations.