Comparative Analysis of Leaf Anatomy, Morphology, and Ethnobotanical Uses of Etlingera spp. (Zingiberaceae) from the Bali Botanical Garden Collection.

Purpose: Conservative plant identification depends on the morphological and anatomical character. Previously, there was no publication about the leaf anatomical character of Etlingera rubroloba, E. mamasarum, E. hemispaerica and E. sp 1. This research’s aim was to describe the anatomical and morphological characters of five Etlingera spp. from the Bali Botanical Garden collection. This research was expected to add taxonomical information to Etlingera. Some ethnobotany information is also described in this paper.
Research Method: The research was conducted in Bali Botanical Garden laboratory. Five species of Etlingera spp were used as samples in this research. The morphological characteristics included leaf morphology, ligule morphology, petiole morphology, and inflorescence observations. Meanwhile for anatomical characteristics, transverse sections were made manually with a razor blade as thin as possible from lamina, midrib, leaf margin and petiole. Epidermal peels were prepared by mechanical treatment. Images were captured using Olympus CX31. Ethnobotanical information collected from a literature review.
Findings: The results show that the outline pattern of the adaxial surface of the petiole, the hypodermis abaxial layer, the outline of the leaf margin and stomata density show interspecific variation in Etlingera from the Bali botanical garden collection. There are also variations in vegetative and generative morphology. A combination of anatomy, vegetative and generative character enables the differentiation of the species.
Limitations: This research was limited to five species of Etlingera from Bali Botanic Garden collection.
Originality/value: The research has provided new information on the anatomical characteristic of Etlingera.