Abstract:
Echinacea purpurea L. (Purple cornflower) is one of the most important medicinal
herb belongs to family Astraea. Three morphologically different types of roots of
plantlets could be identified clearly even in in vitro conditions. Although all the
rooted plants were almost the same height and possessed of almost the same number
of leaves, diploid and tetraploid were showed obviously sturdier roots while
haploids with slimmer roots. Roots of diploids and tetraploids showed prominent
difference; in the roots of tetraploids were shorter, thicker, darker coloured and with
many lateral roots than those of diploids. The difference in the thickness of the roots
could be distinguished as early as on day 10-15, a few days after growing out of
adventitious roots. There were no significant differences in flowering time between
haploid, diploid and tetraploids grew normally in the field and flowered within 5
months.
There was no prominent morphologically different of E. purpurea haploid, diploid
and tetraploid plant leaves could be identified clearly even in in vitro or in vivo.
Size of stomata on leaves varied largely even among those of the same leaf, but
statistically significant mean size differences could be found between those of
haploid, diploid and tetraploid. The average length of the stomata of diploid plants
was 104.519 pm, while it was in those tetraploid plants and haploid plants jwere
144.810 pm and 72.41 pm respectively; thus significantly longer than those of the
haploid plants. Over all, tetraploids possessed longer and wider stomata.
E. purpurea haploid has 11 chromosomes with smaller cells; a diploid has 22
chromosomes; a tetraploid has 44 of chromosomes with comparatively larger cells.
