MORPHOLOGICAL AND ANATOMICAL FEATURES OF THE NEEDLES OF INTRASPECIFIC VARIATIONS OF COMMON JUNIPER

Comparative study was carried out by morphological, anatomical features of needles of four variations of the common juniper ( Juniperus communis L.). The plants belong to three ecological groups in relation to moisture - mesopsychrophytes, xeromesophytes and mesoxerophytes. Juniper variations choose different strategies for experiencing a lack of moisture. Mesopsychrophytes (a drought tolerance coefficient of less than 2) include variations of J. communis var . saxatilis and J. communis var. depressa and distinguished by small, blunt and thin needles, but large resin channels, the life form is a creeping shrub. Mesoxerophytes (drought resistance coefficient greater than 2.1) include, first of all, J. communis var. oblonga plants, have long, thick, sharp needles with two stomatal stripes, a large number of lining cells, large conductive bundles, developed conductive needle tissue, but small resin passages. These are usually tall shrubs or trees. Juniper variations of J. communis var. communis can be attributed to the group of xeromesophytes and by many features it occupies an intermediate position between J. communis var. saxatilis and J. communis var. oblonga . These plants, on the one hand, represent columnar shrubs and trees and have long sharp needles, small resin passages and, on the other, there are thin needles with as a rule, one stomatal strip and a small number of lining cells.