Leaf micromorphology and leaf glandular hair ontogeny of Myoporum bontioides A. Gray

Myoporum bontioides A. Gray (Myoporaceae), a red list plant in Japan, is restricted to only a few East Asian countries like China, Japan and Taiwan, associated to some true mangroves. The leaf is isolateral and has a thick cuticle; stomata are anomocytic, sunken and have a beak-shaped cuticular outgrowth at the inner and outer side of the stomatal pore (ledges); profuse glandular hairs are scattered on both leaf surfaces of young leaves. The mesophyll is compact with palisade and spongy parenchyma cells in the young stage, but at maturity profuse intercellular spaces can be observed. Secretory ducts occur in young leaves. Pear-shaped glandular hairs protrude from the epidermal layer. Hair primordia are well distinct by their larger size and undergo divisions to produce two laterally placed basal cells, two stalk cells and four radiating terminal cells. The cuticle layers of the terminal cells are often separated from the cell wall to form a space, in which ions accumulate for excretion. Inner walls of the basal cells are connected with the mesophyll. Though ontogeny and structure of glandular hairs have resemblance to typical mangroves, considering leaf micromorphology, this plant is better termed as “mangrove associate” instead of “true man