Abstract: Leaf architectural characteristics of 35 taxa from Eurya were examined to discuss the evolution route and the systematic positions of some species within Eurya. The result shows:Venations of leaf in genus Eurya are all brochidodromous and camptodromus, there are little differences among the primary veins, the secondary veins’ angle of divergence is acute or nearly right-angle, intersecondary veins are simple or compound; tertiary veins are usually reticulate, the margin ultimate venation are forming into a loop or incomplete; areoles are not uniform in shape and incomplete or imperfect in system development. These distinctive characteristics are different among species, which can be used to identify species. The leaf evolution route in Eurya was also discussed based on the five clades from phenetic analyses of 16 leaf architectural characteristics. The study indicates leaf architecture is very significant for classification and evolution of Eurya.

Key words: Eurya, leaf architecture, venation, evolution route, taxonomic significance