The objective of this research was to study the leaf anatomy of the weed species Leonurus sibiricus, Leonotis nepetaefolia, Plantago tomentosa and Sida glaziovii to acquire a better understanding of the barriers each species imposes upon herbicide penetration, thus supporting the search for strategies to overcome these obstacles. Completely expanded leaves from the third to the fifth nodes of the plants were collected in the field. Three samples of approximately 1 cm² were taken from the central portion of the leaves of each species to be used in the studies of structure and clarification as well as observations through a scanning-electron microscope (SEM). L. sibiricus is the only hypostomatic species, while the others are amphistomatic species. The main leaf barriers observed against herbicide penetration in L. sibiricus were high trichomic density and stomata absence in the adaxial side; in L. nepetaefolia, the barriers were high trichomic density, high cuticle thickness in the adaxial side and low stomatic density in the adaxial side, whereas in P. tomentosa the barriers were high content of epicuticular wax, high trichomic density and high cuticle thicknesses. High trichomic density and low stomatic density in the adaxial side were the herbicide barriers observed in the leaves of S. glaziovii.
cuticle; epicuticular wax; stomata; trichome; vascular bunches
