Relevance of comparative leaf blade anatomy in taxonomic and functional research on the South African Poaceae.

Abstract

The large and economically important grass family is notoriously difficult to classify because the highly specialized and reduced flower necessitates the use of fine morphological distinctions for the separation of taxa. Fortunately leaf blade anatomy has proved to be an invaluable aid in the classification and identification of the Poaceae. This project was initiated primarily to increase our knowledge of the systematics of the grasses of southern Africa but with the secondary objective of serving as basic data for several applied biological disciplines. A brief outline of these objectives will be followed by a short explanation of the methodology adopted and of the layout and presentation of this thesis.