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Anatomy and microscopy of leaves and roots of terrestrial and
epiphytic orchids in BRIS ecosystem
NurulShafiqah binti Seeni Abdul Kader
Supervisor: Dr Rohani Binti Shahruddin
Bachelor of Applied Science
(Biodiversity Conservation and Management)
School of Marine and Environmental science
The aim of this study is to investigate the differences of leaves and root
anatomy between epiphytic and terrestrial orchids in BRIS ecosystem. Eight
species were selected for this study, which six were epiphytic while two species
were terrestrial. Quantity of stomata and the cell number in velamen layers
were the structures that observed in this study. Results indicated that the
number of stomata and velamen layers differed significantly between these two
orchids. The epiphytic have average of stomatal density 296 stomata/mm²
while terrestrial 1187 stomata/mm² on leaves. The epiphytic have highest cell
number of layers which are six, and terrestrial shows the lowest cell number in
velamen with only one layer. This study showed that orchids in BRIS ecosystem
have their own adaptations to tolerate with physical changes in an environment.
1757 | UMT UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH DAY 2018