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Abstract
Foliar anatomical comparisons were made between in vitro-grown plantlets and greenhouse-grown plants of ‘Silvan’ blackberry (Rubus sp.) using scanning and light microscopy. Each apex and marginal serration of in vitro- and greenhouse-grown leaves had a terminal hydathode region composed of a scattered, primarily adaxial, group of sunken water pores. Water pores and stomata of plantlet leaves were open, while greenhouse-grown plant leaves had closed water pores and stomata or comparatively small apertures. Internally, the hydathodes of both cultured plantlets and greenhouse-grown plants were delimited by a bundle sheath that flanked the vascular tissues and extended to the epidermis. Between the vascular tissues and the epidermis were loosely arranged epithem cells. The hydathodes of plantlet leaves were simpler than those of greenhouse-grown plants, with fewer water pores and reduced epithem. Water loss from detached leaves of plantlets occurred through both leaf surfaces, although more water was lost from the abaxial surface. In contrast, foliar water loss from severed leaf blades of greenhouse-grown plants was primarily abaxial.