The present communication describes anatomy of ochrea and stipule in eighteen species of Polygonaceae. With the exception of Antigonon leptopus a tubular ochrea has been observed in all the seventeen species examined. On the basis of the present studies it is concluded that the ochrea consists of two parts; the lower portion is regarded as the sheathing base whereas the upper free tubular part as the stipule. Depending upon their vasculature, the stipules have been divided into seven categories. The stipular part usually receives many bundles but some times 4 or 3 or 2 and it is non-vascular in Polygonum alatum, Rumex arifolius and R. dentatus. There appears to be some correlation between the nodal vasculature and the number of vascular bundles present in the stipule. Nodes having only a few leaf traces generally possess either fewer bundles in the stipule or they are totally nonvascular.
Ochrea, Stipule
