TABLE 1.
Quantification of floral structural traits for tested species.
| Traits | Abbreviation | Unit | Functional significance | Mean ± SE | Min | Max | CV (%) |
| Floral stem | |||||||
| Epidermal thickness | SEPT | μm | Water conservation | 45.75 ± 1.18 | 19.32 | 77.67 | 26.71 |
| Exodermal thickness | SEXT | μm | Water transport | 325.76 ± 15.55 | 117.03 | 1,214.46 | 49.62 |
| Endodermal thickness | SENT | μm | Water transport | 136.09 ± 7.36 | 0 | 433.01 | 56.24 |
| Petal | |||||||
| Upper epidermal thickness | PUET | μm | Water conservation | 67.38 ± 2.07 | 27.14 | 123.77 | 31.92 |
| Lower epidermal thickness | PLET | μm | Water conservation | 69.22 ± 2.24 | 26.46 | 128.82 | 33.57 |
| Mesophyll thickness | PM | μm | Water storage | 214.14 ± 10.79 | 55.56 | 483.50 | 52.37 |
| Petal thickness | PT | μm | Water availability | 348.77 ± 13.15 | 146.83 | 683.86 | 39.19 |
| Vein density | PVD | mm mm–2 | Water availability | 1.11 ± 0.05 | 0.47 | 3.29 | 49.55 |
| Lip | |||||||
| Upper epidermal thickness | LUET | μm | Water conservation | 65.87 ± 1.79 | 26.01 | 125.39 | 28.28 |
| Lower epidermal thickness | LLET | μm | Water conservation | 63.29 ± 1.70 | 25.04 | 121.38 | 27.98 |
| Mesophyll thickness | LM | μm | Water storage | 247.58 ± 10.33 | 34.80 | 540.03 | 43.38 |
| Lip thickness | LT | μm | Water availability | 375.53 ± 11.68 | 155.22 | 690.05 | 32.32 |
| Vein density | LVD | mm mm–2 | Water availability | 0.93 ± 0.02 | 0.39 | 1.50 | 27.96 |
| Dorsal sepal | |||||||
| Upper epidermal thickness | DSUET | μm | Water conservation | 64.38 ± 1.50 | 32.24 | 108.75 | 24.23 |
| Lower epidermal thickness | DSLET | μm | Water conservation | 74.81 ± 2.55 | 31.77 | 193.69 | 35.37 |
| Mesophyll thickness | DSM | μm | Water storage | 217.92 ± 8.81 | 16.37 | 478.23 | 42.00 |
| Dorsal sepal thickness | DST | μm | Water availability | 356.40 ± 10.43 | 149.24 | 632.32 | 30.40 |
| Vein density | DSVD | mm mm–2 | Water availability | 1.11 ± 0.03 | 0.59 | 2.05 | 21.62 |
| Stomatal density | DSSD | mm–2 | Water loss | 2.17 ± 0.13 | 0.55 | 6.77 | 61.75 |
| Synsepal | |||||||
| Upper epidermal thickness | SYUET | μm | Water conservation | 61.06 ± 1.52 | 30.17 | 110.60 | 25.79 |
| Lower epidermal thickness | SYLET | μm | Water conservation | 64.75 ± 1.69 | 29.15 | 112.05 | 27.17 |
| Mesophyll thickness | SYM | μm | Water storage | 107.53 ± 4.01 | 17.11 | 238.25 | 38.73 |
| Synsepal thickness | SYT | μm | Water availability | 243.95 ± 5.90 | 130.67 | 452.58 | 25.15 |
| Vein density | SYVD | mm mm–2 | Water availability | 1.22 ± 0.05 | 0.61 | 2.92 | 41.80 |
| Stomatal density | SYSD | mm–2 | Water loss | 3.08 ± 0.28 | 0.56 | 11.29 | 93.18 |