Diagnostic features of raw materials of related Equisetum species of Ukrainian flora

Abstract

A comparative morphological and anatomical study of six Equisetum species (Е. arvense L., E. fluviatile L., E. palustre L., E. рratense Ehrh., E. sylvaticum L. and E. telmateia Ehrh.) was carried out using light and scanning electron microscopy to investigate the species-specific diagnostic features of their raw organs for distinguishing between the taxa. The main diagnostic features that allow identifying the belonging of whole (uncrushed) raw materials of Equisetum are the presence/absence of spore-bearing organs and spores, the number of branches ribs, the ratio of the length of the branch internode to leaf whorl of stem and the ratio of the central cavity diameter of the stem to the stem diameter. The ultrastructure of the surface of stems and branches of model species contains a number of diagnostic features, which together allow determining the species affiliation of raw materials correctly. The most significant diagnostic characteristics of Equisetum species are cuticle structure, location, and shape of mamillae and papillae, presence and localization of stomata, features of silica warts on stomata subsidiary cells, siliceous outgrowths on the ribs top (ridge) of stem and branches. The linear dimensions of epidermal cells, stomata and silica structures, the size of the ribs and the central cavity of the stem have secondary importance for the identification of individual species.

Keywords

• Equisetum
• raw materials
• diagnostic features
• papillae
• mamillae
• silica warts

References

1. [1] Mosyakin SL, Fedoronchuk ММ. Vascular plants of Ukraine: A nomenclatural checklist. Naukova Dumka, Kyiv, 1999.
2. [2] State Pharmacopoeia of Ukraine. State Enterprise “Ukrainian Scientific Pharmacopoeial Center for Quality of Medicines,” Kharkiv, Ukraine, 2014 (in Ukrainian).
3. [3] Minarchenko VM. Medicinal vascular plants of Ukraine (medicinal and resources significance). Phytosociocentr, Kyiv, 2005 (in Ukrainian).
4. [4] Page CN. The ferns of Britain and Ireland, 2nd edn. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1997.
5. [5] Brune T, Thiv M, Haas K. Equisetum (Equisetaceae) species or hybrids? ISSR fingerprinting profiles help improve diagnoses based on morphology and anatomy. Plant Systematics and Evolution. 2008; 274: 67-81. [CrossRef]
6. [6] Feoktistov DS, Gureeva II. Anatomical features of cross-sections of the genus Equisetum members. Ukrainian Journal of Ecology. 2018; 8(2): 210-216.
7. [7] Minarchenko VM, Tymchenko IA, Dvirna TS, Futorna OA, Makhinya LM, et al. Atlas of morphological and anatomy features of wild medicinal-plant raw materials of closely related species of Ukraine. PALYVODA А.В., Kyiv, 2022 (in Ukrainian).
8. [8] Warrick RB. SEM analysis of Utah Equisetum stems (Equisetaceae). Great Basin Naturalist. 1988; 48(1): 51-57.

9. [9] Cullen E, Rudall PJ. The remarkable stomata of horsetails (Equisetum): patterning, ultrastructure and development. Ann Bot. 2016; 118(2): 207-218. [CrossRef]
10. [10] Dayanandan P, Kaufman P. Stomata in Equisetum. Canadian Journal of Botany. 2011; 51: 1555-1564.
11. [11] Фурст ГГ. Методы анатомо-гистохимического исследования растительных тканей. Наука, Москва, 1979 (in Russian).
12. [12] Барыкина РП, Веселова ТД, Девятов АГ, Джалилова ХХ, Ильина ГМ, Чубатова НВ. Справочник по ботанической микротехнике. Основы и методы. Издательство МГУ, Москва, 2004 (in Russian).
13. [13] Brune T, Haas K. Equisetum species show uniform epicuticular wax structures but diverse composition patterns. AoB PLANTS. 2011; plr009: 1-14. [CrossRef]
14. [14] Ölzant S, Gerngross F, Länger R. Equisetum crude drugs: epidermal characters for identification. Scientia Pharmaceutica. 2005; 74: 239-250.
15. [15] Page CN. An assessment of inter-specific relationships in Equisetum subgenus Equisetum. New Phytologist. 1972; 71(2): 355-369. [CrossRef]