SURFACE WAX DEPOSITS ON FOLIAGE OF PICEA PUNGENS AND OTHER CONIFERS

Abstract

Epicuticular waxes of five cultivated varieties of Picea pungens and six other species of conifers were examined directly with a scanning electron microprobe. The quality, quantity, and distribution patterns of surface wax deposits varied between species, within species, within plants, and within individual leaves. Two basic types of wax were observed, structural and amorphous. Structural wax is associated with glaucousness and the blue foliage color in Picea pungens and other species. The degree of occlusion of the stomatal pore by surface waxes also varied from heavily occluded to completely free of wax. Wax in the epistomatal chamber may be another resistance barrier to gas exchange by conifer needles.