Abstract:

The styles of Alpinia have the ability to curve. The natural population of this genus has two morphs, the styles of which move towards opposite directions. We researched the structural fundamentals of the style curvature by micrography and electron ultramicrography. The anatomy of the two morphs was the same. The apical part (about 25% of total length) can curve, and other part cannot. The abaxial side of the curvature part had long and narrow cells. The adaxial side, besides containing these cells, also contained some cells with larger diameter, irregular shape, short length and thin cell wall. The cell type in the two sides of the noncurvature part was similar: long and narrow. The differences in cell structure and magnitudes of cell layers between adaxial and abaxial sides may be the structural fundamentals of style curvature.

Key words: Alpinia mutica, anatomical structure, style curvature