L'EMPLOI DES CARACTERES EPIDERMIQUES DANS L'ETUDE TAXONOMIQUE DU FESTUCA RUBRA LATO SENSU (POACEAE)

The leaf epidermis from a collection of 33 specimens encompassing most of the morphological variation of Festuca rubra in Eastern Canada and including two cytotypes (2n = 42 and 2n = 56) is described with 16 characters. The leaf epidermal composition differs markedly between culms and vegetative shoots. Many epidermal characters, particularly those from the vegetative shoots, are among the best ones for distinguishing between the two cytotypes. Parallel analyses using nine anatomical characters show the greater taxonomical potential of epidermis. Keywords: Festuca rubra, leaf, epidermis, anatomy, cytotypes.