Ridesti Rindyastuti, Rodiyati Azrianingsih, Decky Indrawan Junaedi, Janis Damayani, Estri Laras Arumingtyas
Anatomical characteristics may serve as diagnostic indicators that are useful for elucidating the identity of a plant species and its ecological adaptation to environmental changes. This study aimed to examine the foliar anatomical traits of Diospyros javanica, in comparison with its widely distributed relatives, Diospyros cauliflora and Diospyros buxifolia, which are crucial for understanding trait variation, taxonomic position, and environmental adaptation. Plant samples were collected from Purwodadi Botanic Garden, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN). Anatomical preparations were made using the paraffin-embedding method. Almost all qualitative variations could act as distinguishing traits among the species. Anatomical traits observed in this study include stomata, cuticle layer, epidermis, intracellular cavity, vascular bundles, sclerenchyma tissue, palisade and spongy mesophyll, supporting elements such as tracheids, mucilage cells, crystal oxalate, and metabolites such as phenolic deposits. Quantitative analysis of stomatal traits showed significant differences for all traits except stomatal density (p=0.18). All anatomical traits of leaf blades are significantly different across the three species, with p value of 0.0. The thinner photosynthetic structures of D. javanica indicate lower growth performance compared to that of its more widely distributed relatives. Research on ecophysiology related to growth rate and biochemical content that support plant adaptation could be conducted in the near future to inform species conservation. © 2026, Society for Indonesian Biodiversity. All rights reserved.
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universitas Brawijaya, Jl. Veteran, East Java, Malang, 65145, Indonesia; Research Center of Ecology and Ethnobiology, Indonesian National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Jl. Raya Jakarta-Bogor Km. 46 Cibinong, West Java, Bogor, 16911, Indonesia; Research Center of Applied Botany, Indonesian National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Jl. Raya Jakarta-Bogor Km. 46 Cibinong, West Java, Bogor, 16911, Indonesia; Directorate of Scientific Collection Management, Indonesian National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Jl. Raya Jakarta-Bogor Km. 46 Cibinong, West Java, Bogor, 16911, Indonesia
