Anatomical characteristics of dwarf Cunninghamia lanceolata

Key words: 
• botany /
• Cunninghamia lanceolata （Chinese fir） /
• dwarfism /
• anatomical characteristics

Abstract: To reveal how dwarfing occurs with Cunninghamia lanceolata（Chinese fir），and clarify the internal structure of both branch and leaf，the anatomical characteristics of a dwarf and a control（a normal tree） were compared with the method of manufacture slice in 2007 and using t-test. Results revealed that the average growth of the trunk （25.54 cm） and branches （24.59 cm） of the dwarf were significantly（P＜0.01） lower than the control （trunk：89.61 cm and branches：57.52 cm）. Furthermore，for the bark，the dwarf average was 76.50%，and the control was 37.70%（P＜0.01）. The average mean area of a tracheid cell for the dwarf （241.901 6 μm2） was significantly（P＜0.01） lower than the control （308.894 6 μm2），however，the average dwarf tracheid density was 3 375 cells·mm －2，whereas the control was significantly（P＜0.01） lower at 2 456 cells·mm －2. For leaf unit length，the dwarf average （trunk：14 leaves·cm －1 and branches：10 leaves·cm －1） were significantly（P＜0.01） greater than the control （trunk or branches：7 leaves·cm －1）；however，there were no difference in the proportion of palisade tissue and spongy tissue. ［Ch，2 fig. 3 tab. 13 ref.］