Rapid Adventitious Organogenesis from Leaf Segments of Embelia ribes Burm.－a Threatened Medicinal Plant

An in vitro protocol was developed for rapid multiplication of plantlets via direct organogenesis from the leaf segments of Embelia ribes Burm. (Myrsinaceae), a rare woody medicinal shrub under threat of being extinct. Adventitious shoots were organized directly from the margin of the lamina on medium supplemented with 2 to 4 mg/L 6-furfuryl amino purine (FAP) and 0.2 to 0.6 mg/L naphthalene acetic acid (NAA). The frequency of shoot bud production was the highest (mean of 33.6 ± 3.63 shoots per explants) at the concentration of 3 mg/L FAP and 0.4 mg/L NAA. Rooting of microshoots was also noticed on the same medium in a single-phase culture. A mean of 30 ± 1.05 root intact plantlets was recovered per explant. The rooted plantlets were well accomplished with a survival frequency of 96%. Moreover, there were no phenotypic differences observed between the in vitro regenerated and in vivo plants