Abstract: Leaf traits are basic and important characters in the ecological strategies of plants. In this paper, leaf traits including leaf vein, serration of leaf margin, index of leaf shape, chlorophyll content, leaf area (LA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), specific leaf area (SLA) of 50 Fenghuang Dancong tea cultivars in eastern Guangdong were investigated, and while geographic variance in leaf trait of 12 tea cultivars from three altitudes were detected to provide basic information for cultivation of Fenghuang Dancong tea. The results showed that the leaf shape was from ovate to long ovate (index of leaf shape is 1.99~3.16), mean chlorophyll content was 64.348(SPAD data), mean leaf area was 24.237 cm², mean leaf dry matter content was 40.65%, and specific leaf area was 80.947 cm²·g^-1. The coefficients of variation of leaf area, specific leaf area, chlorophyll content, leaf shape, and leaf dry matter content were 21.12%, 18.3%, 10.4%, 9.8%, and 5.9% respectively. There was a tendency that LA, SLA and chlorophyll content of leaf of Fenghuang Dancong tea cultivars increased, and LDMC of leaf decreased with increasing of altitude. It indicated that he altitude of planting region may have a significant influence on leaf traits of Fenghuang Dancong tea cultivars.

Key words: Fenghuang Dancong tea cultivars, leaf trait, altitude, geographic variance