Seasonal variation in cuticular waxes on Hosta genotypes differing in leaf surface glaucousness

Cuticular waxes were analyzed on abaxial and adaxial leaf surfaces of three Hosta genotypes differing in leaf surface glaucousness; the glossy-leaved Hosta plantaginea, the glossy-leaved Hosta lancifolia, and the glaucous-leaved Hosta 'Krossa Regal'. All three hosta had their highest total leaf wax quantity in the spring soon after full leaf expansion. The major wax constituent class on these hosta was primary alcohols, comprising up to 84.6% of the total wax. Many hosta leaves had unusually high C₂₄ length primary alcohols, especially in the spring. However, the dominant chain length in this alcohol class varied with development and genotype. A unique class of β-diketones were present on the glaucous 'Krossa Regal', comprising as much as 28.7% of the total waxes on abaxial leaf surfaces in the summer. Interestingly, these β-diketones were only 0.9% of total waxes on adaxial leaf surfaces of 'Krossa Regal' in the summer. Studies are under way to determine whether the dramatic seasonal changes in the waxy leaf coatings described in this report are associated with biotic and abiotic stress resistance in hosta.