**3. Identification of stomata anatomical characters**

The research stage of leaf stomata identification was carried out by direct observation using a miscropcope shortly after sampling in the field. The anatomical characters of leaf stomata identified include the average number of stomata, average length of stomata, average stomata width, average number of epidermis, average length of epidermis, average epidermal width, stomata index, stomata type, shape epidermis on the upper and lower surfaces of the leaves [13].

The epidermis is a system of cells, varying in structure and function that protects the primary plant body. The leaf epidermis is the outermost layer of cells, generally only one layer. In the leaf epidermis, there are usually epidermal derivatives in the form of stomas (plural: stomata). A stoma is a gap in the epidermis that is bounded by



*Identification of Native* Dendrobium *Based on Morphological and Anatomical Characters… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.102446*

#### **Table 4.**

*Anatomical characters on the upper and lower surfaces of leaves.*

two special epidermal cells, namely the covering cell that functions to widen or narrow the gap. The stoma is surrounded by cells that can be the same or different from other epidermal cells called neighboring cells [13].

In this study, observations were made on 4 types of *Dendrobium*, namely *Dendrobium* IR015, *Dendrobium* CAT 140, *Dendrobium* CAT 144, and *Dendrobium* 274. Observations were made on the upper and lower surfaces of leaves (**Table 4**).

Based on **Table 4**, it is known that the types of IR015, CAT 140, and CAT 274 have stomata only on the lower surface, while CAT 144 has stomata on the upper and lower surfaces. This difference is due to the position of the leaves attached to the stem at CAT 144 forming an angle of 45°C, while the others open horizontally. This causes the top and bottom sides to be the same. The anatomical characters on CAT 144 on the upper and lower surfaces of the leaves, such as the number of stomata, length of stomata, width of stomata, number of epidermis, length of epidermis, width of epidermis, index of stomata are not much different. Stomata are kidney-shaped, and belong to the tetracytic type, namely in the form of stomata surrounded by 4 neighboring

cells. In IR015, CAT 140, and CAT 274 the upper surface of the leaves is composed only of the epidermis which is mostly irregular and pentagonal in shape. The highest number was in CAT 274 because the epidermis was smaller than IR015 and CAT 144.

On the lower leaf surface, it is known that the number of stomata at IR015 is the highest and the number of epidermis is the least, so that the stomata index is the largest. The stomata index looks the largest because the stomata index shows the number of stomata divided by the number of stomata plus the number of epidermis and multiplied by 100%. The types of stomata in all types are the same, namely tetracytic in the form of stomata surrounded by 4 neighboring cells. The stomata are kidneyshaped and the epidermis is irregular, pentagonal, and hexagonal in shape.
