Life Sciences International Research Journal Volume 7 Issue 1 ISSN 2347- 8691 IMRF Biannual Peer Reviewed (Refereed) International Journal | SE Impact Factor 2.87 | 39 MORPHO - ANATOMICAL STUDY OF LEAF AND STEM OF SAPINDUS TRIFOLIATUS L., AS A TAXONOMICAL IDENTIFICATION TOOL Vigi George M Ph.D Research Scholar, Department of Botany, C M S College Kottayam, Kottayam, Kerala, India Email: vigi@cmscollege.ac.in Hari N Assistant Professor, Department of Botany, C M S College Kottayam, Kottayam, Kerala, India Email: drhari@cmscollege.ac.in Received: Aug. 2020 Accepted: Sep. 2020 Published: Oct. 2020 Abstract: Sapindus trifoliatus is distribution throughout all districts in Kerala, in its wild and cultivated habitat. The presence of high saponin in the pericarp attributed the genus as an important ingredient in our traditional medicine. The human-mediated deforestation, contemporaneous natural calamities, through flood and land sliding; all that happened in the last few years in the state has adversely affected many plant species. The identification and its conservation is the need of time. Here, anatomy turns out to be the good option when flowers or fruits are unavailable for identification. The main intention of this work is to use leaf and stem anatomical characteristics as the device for the identification of species. The microanatomy (Scanning Electron Microscopy) of leaf showed ranunculaceous stomata and glandular and non- glandular trichomes on the abaxial side. The micromorphology showed the eucamptodromous type of ramification. The anatomy of the petiole showed the distribution of prismatic crystals in the ground tissue. In stem, the presence of simple perforation plate, confluent axial parenchyma, septate and non- septate fibers with simple pits in the xylem components are the stable anatomical features, to establish the taxonomic identity of the species, and are the stable characteristics even in the climate change which alter the morphological characteristics. This is the first of its kind detailed report on the anatomy and micromorphology of S.trifoliatus from Kerala. Further, in the future, more descriptive and comparative anatomical studies are recommended for the taxonomical identification of plant species in its natural habitat. Keywords: Sapindus Trifoliatus, Anatomy, Secondary Xylem Components, Sapindaceae, SEM- Characteristics. Introduction: Sapindus, the genus belong to the family Sapindaceae, commonly known as Soap berry family by the presence of saponins, which are well known for their detergent properties. The greatest diversity of the family being noticed in the South East Asian region. Sapindus include about ten species with tropical and sub temperate distribution (Kubitzki, 2011), with the temperately growing species showing a tendency towards ring porosity, a feature which is rarely present in Sapindaceae (Klassen, 1999). In Kerala the genera is represented by two species, Sapindus trifoliatus L. and Sapindus emarginatus Vahl. (Sasidharan, 2004). Even though the species is showing a wide distribution throughout all districts, either as a wild or garden plant, seldom identified and exploited for their therapeutic potentials. The description of Indian Sapidus trifoliatus found in The Flora of British India (Hooker, 1872), The Flora of Kerala Vol 1 (Murthy & Venu, 2005), Documentation of Flowering Plants of Kerala, Part VI (Sasidharan, 2006) and in the works of Umadevi and Daniel (Umadevi et al, 1987). However, a fair amount of work had been done on their medicinal, floral and vegetative aspects, but there is dearth of literature on the anatomical details of the plant.