Exploring leaf architecture in varieties of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L. (Malvaceae)

Leaf architecture has been successfully used in the taxonomic and systematic studies of many plant families, genera, and species but little employed at the variety level. The present study demonstrated how leaf architecture can be equally important for plant varieties as well. The leaf architecture of four Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L. varieties namely ‘Reddy or Not’, ‘Nay Isa’, ‘Lolay’, and ‘Saskia De Lang’ from the Institute of Plant Breeding was studied. A total of 150 leaf specimens were digitized, examined, measured, and described. The semicraspedodromous pattern of the secondary veins and the angle between the 3° to 1° vein were characters found to have taxonomic significance in describing H. rosa-sinensis species while the angle of the 2° vein was important for delineating H. rosa-sinensis varieties. The resulting dendrogram from the cluster analysis grouped all the H. rosa-sinensis from the outgroup and further created three subclusters that were closely related.