XVI International Botanical Congess

The structures of leaf surface in Russian Far Eastern representatives of genera Serratula (4 species), Synurus(1), Rhaponticum(2), Atractylodes(1) were studied by means of obtaining cuticular membrane. The degree of the variation of epidermal features and correlation between some of them are determined. In the course of a comparative investigation were analysed the diagnostic value of stomatal characteristics. The presence of stomata on the upper epidermis, distribution, frequency and structure of stomata, correlation between the number of stomata and number of epidermal cells, form, size of epidermal cells, degree of undulation of anticlinal walls, presence of striations on the cuticle, size and structure of trichomes are diagnostic for investigated species. Anomocytic stomatal apparatus with 2-5 no distinctive subsidiary cells is characteristic for all examined species. This work form the part of a monografic study of taxonomy the tribe Cardueae, involving research of distribution, macromorphology, citology, surface ultrasculpture, morphological and anatomical structure of achenes and phylogenetic relationships. The complex analysis based on experimental data indicated that some taxonomic rearrangments are necessary within the genera Serratula and Rhaponticum.