Comparative foliar epidermal morphology of the Entandrophragma species (Meliaceae) in Nigerian ethnomedicine

Oluwaseun Adeniyi Osiyemi; Kehinde Adegoke Kehinde Adeniji; Temitope Omoniyi Oyebola; Omokafe Alaba Ugbogu

doi:10.3897/phytolbalcan.31.e161716

Phytologia Balcanica 31: 65-74, doi: 10.3897/phytolbalcan.31.e161716

Comparative foliar epidermal morphology of the Entandrophragma species (Meliaceae) in Nigerian ethnomedicine

Oluwaseun Adeniyi Osiyemi^‡, Kehinde Adegoke Adeniji^‡, Temitope Omoniyi Oyebola^‡, Omokafe Alaba Ugbogu^‡

‡ Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Ibadan, Nigeria

Corresponding author: Oluwaseun Adeniyi Osiyemi ( osinyemi2004@yahoo.com )

Academic editor: Anna Ganeva

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Citation: Osiyemi OA, Adeniji KA, Oyebola TO, Ugbogu OA (2025) Comparative foliar epidermal morphology of the Entandrophragma species (Meliaceae) in Nigerian ethnomedicine. Phytologia Balcanica 31: 65-74. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytolbalcan.31.e161716

Abstract

A comparative leaf epidermal study of four species of the genus Entandrophragma used in Nigerian ethnomedicine was conducted by light microscopy. The aim was to explore their taxonomic significance and provide further pharmacopoeial information for delimitation and on the relationship among these species. The results have shown diagnostic characters, including wavy anticlinal cell walls with trichomes on the adaxial surface in E. angolense, straight to curved anticlinal cell walls on the adaxial surface in E. candollei, cyclocytic stomata in E. cylindrium, and striations on the abaxial surface in E. utile. All species were hypostomatic, with anomocytic stomata.

Keywords

Entandrophragma, ethnomedicine, foliar epidermis, Nigeria, stomata, taxonomy