在光学显微镜和扫描电镜下，对鄂尔多斯高原上从东到西分布的8种锦鸡儿属(Caragana )植物的 叶表皮特征进行了观察，发现该属植物的叶表皮细胞形状有多边形和不规则形两种类型；气孔轴式类型主要是不定式。旱中生的秦晋锦鸡儿(C. purdomii)的气孔密度及气孔指数最高，其它7种旱生种类（甘蒙锦鸡儿(C. opulens)、中间锦鸡儿(C. intermedia) 、柠条锦鸡儿(C. orshinskii)、荒漠锦鸡儿(C. roborovskyi)、狭叶锦鸡儿(C. stenophylla)、藏锦鸡儿(C. tibetica)和短脚锦鸡儿(C. brachypoda)）的偏低 。在同种锦鸡儿中，中间锦鸡儿、狭叶锦鸡儿、藏锦鸡儿的气孔密度随环境干旱程度的增加而增加，柠条锦鸡儿的气孔密度则减少；狭叶锦鸡儿、藏锦鸡儿的气孔指数随环境干旱程度的增加表现为上升，中间锦鸡儿、柠条锦鸡儿的气孔指数表现为下降。中间锦鸡儿、柠条锦鸡儿、藏锦鸡儿和荒漠锦鸡儿的表皮均密被表皮毛，是对干旱环境的适应特征。旱生种类比中生种类的表皮特性具有更高的可塑性，在半荒漠地带能够成为建群种的狭叶锦鸡儿和藏锦鸡儿的可塑性指数最高。在扫描电镜下，气孔位置有两类：气孔与表皮细胞齐平、气孔陷于表皮细胞之下。表皮上有角质层和蜡质；表皮毛为单细胞非腺毛。
Characteristics of the leaf epidermis of 8 species in the genus Caragana, wh ich grow from the east to the west on the Ordos Plateau, were studied by observation through a light microscope (LM) and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The study showed that the leaf epidermal cells were usually irregular or polygonal shaped, and the type of stomatal apparatus was mainly anomocytic. The stomatal density and the stomatal index of the xero_mesophytic C． purdomiiwere higher than these of the seven other xerophilous species (C. opulens, C. i ntermedia, C. korshinskii, C. roborovskyi, C. stenophylla, C. tibeticaand C . brachypoda). Comparisons within species showed that C. intermedia, C. sten ophylla, and C. tibeticahad higher stomatal density when growing in heavier drought areas， whereas C. korshinskiihad lower stomatal density; C. s tenophyllaand C. tibeticahad a higher stomatal index whereas C. intermediaand C. korshinskiihad a lower stomatal index. The leaf epidermis of C. intermedia, C. korshinskii, C. tibeticaand C. roborovsky had a dense trichome, which was an adaptive characteristic caused by the droughty environment. The leaf epidermis of xerophytic species had a higher plasticity than that of mesophytic species. The plasticity index of C . stenophyllaand C. tibetica, which are the dominant species in semi_deserts, was the highest among the 8 species. Observation using SEM revealed that there were two types of stomas: stomas located below the epidermal cells and stomas located on the same level with epidermal cells. It also revealed that there was cuticle and wax on the leaf epidermis, and that the trichome on the leaf epidermis was a single cell hair.