Vegetative anatomy of five domesticated members of the genus Cucurbita (Linn.) in Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

The vegetative anatomy of five domesticated species of the genus Cucurbita L. found in South Western Nigeria was studied. The aim was to establish some useful diagnostic features that may be employed in combination with other characters as intra or inter-specific or generic tools for their delimitation. The study revealed exciting features that are helpful in the identification of each species. The genus can be divided into three groups based on the shape of the midrib. Those with a U-shape are C. pepo, C. argyrosperma and C. ficifolia. C. maximum has a round/flat shape while C. moschata has V shape. Those with a U-shape can further be classed into those with a wide and narrow neck. C. argyrosperma has narrow neck with two vascular bundles, four layers of palisade tissues and 6 layers of abaxial epidermis. C. pepo has a wide neck with three bicollateral bundles and two layers of palisade tissues while C. ficifolia has two bundles and three layers of palisade tissues. Overlaps and similarities in the number of vascular bundles, and layers of tissues showed generic affinity among the members.