Some morphological, epidermal and anatomical characters of the leaflet
were studied in date palm cultivars, 8ent-Aisha, Hyeane, Samanie, and Zaghlool.
Moreover, The discriminating potential of the chosen characters between studied
cultivars were examined. Leaflet blade length / width ratio, number of veins at each
side of mid-vein, number of stomata I unit area, number of cell files in the costal
region, number of stomatal files within the intercostal region, number of small vascular bundles between two large vascular b undies, and certain characters 0 f t he fibrouspatches were proved helpful in cultivar - identification. Keys for identifying the studied cultivars were constructed based on characters of high discriminating potential.
Keywords: Leaf morphology, stomata, blade anatomy, date palm, Phoenix dactylifera, cultivar - identification Abbreviations:B = Bent-Aisha; cv(s) = cultivar(s); H = Hyeane; LVBs = large
vascular bundle(s); no. = number; S = Samanie; SVB(s) =
small vascular bundles; Z = Zaghlool.