Bhavna Kabila, Malkiat Chand Sidhu, Amrik Singh Ahluwalia

Identification of Cassia javanica subspecies using morphological features

Abstract The morphological characters of three Cassia javanica L. (Fabaceae Lindl.) subspecies (Cassia javanica subsp. javanica, Cassia javanica subsp. agnes and Cassia javanica subsp. renigera) were analysed to determine their diagnostic value. These three subspecies have pink flowers and, thus, can be easily confused. Leaf stem and flower characters were analysed to identify reliable differences between subspecies. The main focus was on the structure of stipules, variations in the appearance of sepals (red in Cassia javanica subsp. javanica), petals (white in Cassia javanica subsp. renigera) and ovary features. It was found that the subspecies of Cassia javanica can best be distinguished by characters of leaflets, shoot hairiness, type of stipules, characters of peduncles, colour of bracts, sepals and petals. As the variation in the diagnostic characters is rather difficult to assess from the description, the characters of the three subspecies were illustrated by photographs.

Doi https://doi.org/10.35513/Botlit.2023.2.8

Keywords classification, Fabaceae, flowers, phenotypes, phytodiversity, trees

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