Keywords: 
• Hevea brasiliensis /
• leaf anatomy /
• Cluster analysis

Abstract: In order to understand the anatomical traits of leaves among rubber clones of Hevea brasiliensis in China and provide basis for breeding and adaptability evaluation of clones with high photosynthetic efficiency, 21main Hevea clones in China, such as ‘Reyan 73397’, ‘Reyan 917’, etc., were used for anatomical analysis, and their leaf structural traits such as the ratio of palisade tissue thickness to spongy tissue thickness, leaf thickness,stomatal density, etc., were observed by using paraffin sectioning and nail polish imprinting. The results showed that there were significant differences in leaf structural traits among the main clones. The clones ‘Nanhua 1’,‘Hongxing 1’ and ‘Reyan 917’ were higher in palisade tissue thickness, leaf thickness and ratio of palisade tissue to spongy tissue, whereas the clones ‘Reyan 879’, ‘Reken 628’ and ‘Reyan 106’ were relatively lower in stomatal length, stomatal width and stomatal density, which suggested that they had a higher photosynthetic capacity and certain drought resistance ability. Hierarchical clustering showed the aforesaid clones were divided into two groups. The clones ‘Nanhua 1’, ‘Hongxing 1’, ‘Haiken 1’ and ‘Reyan 917’ were relatively higher in leaf thickness, palisade tissue and density of the tissue structure. In summary, clones ‘Nanhua 1’,‘ Hongxing 1’and ‘Reyan 917’were higher in leaf thickness, palisade tissue thickness, density of tissue structure, and were small and dense in stomata. It is hence speculated that these three clones have higher photosynthetic performance, which needs further research. At the same time, this analysis also provides a technical basis for further study of the environmental adaptability and gas exchange characteristics of the above-mentioned clones.