Abstract:The leaves from fifteen populations of Pteroceltis tatarinowii Maxim.in eight provin-ces of China were compared and analyzed by the paraffin method and leaf epidermal maceration.Results showed that there were significant differences between leaf anatomical characteristics of populations,and the palisade tissue cell generally formed two layers.The shapes of the adaxial epidermal cells were polygonal or irregular,while abaxial epidermal cells were irregular.There were many types of anticlinal walls of adaxial surfaces,including flat,round,and shallow and deep wavy.Wavy was the only shape found in anticlinal walls of abaxial surfaces.Distribution of the epidermal hairs in these populations was significantly different,while the types of epidermal hair showed the stabilization in all populations,and the epidermal hair formed floral hoops with cells all around them in most populations.The types of stomatal apparatus in all the populations were irregular,and the stomatal apparatus was only found on the abaxial surface with a random distribution.Characteristics such as size and density of stomatal apparatus were different in these populations.There was a certain correlation between climate factors and the features of leaves from different populations.These results showed that the differences in anatomical structure of leaves from different populations were diverse.Leaf epidermal characteristics such as density of stomatal apparatus were also different,while the types of stomatal apparatus and shapes of epidermal hair in different populations showed stabilization,which may be regarded as evidence for the division of the species.