Morfoanatomia dos elaióforos e folhas de Byrsonima Coccolobifolia Kunth e Byrsonima Verbascifolia (L.) Dc. (malpighiaceae), ocorrentes em três áreas de cerrado stricto sensu

Abstract

The Malpighiaceae family is typical in the Brazilian Cerrado; most of their genera have elaiophores in the basis of its sepals that secretion oil like reward to its pollinators. The objective was to characterize the elaiophores and leaves of Byrsonima coccolobifolia Kunth and Byrsonima verbascifolia (L) DC, in three areas of cerrado stricto sensu, present in the farms Canaã, Providência and São Judas Tadeu. In this morpho-anatomical study, micromorphology was performed on the elaiophores, anatomy on the elaiophores and leaves, and micromorphometry on the leaves. The micromorphological analysis of elaiophores in the different areas of Cerrado showed that this structure maintains its oval and sessile pattern, as a floral conservatism, which guarantees the reproductive success of these species, which was observed in the three studied areas Canaã, Providência and São Judas Tadeu. The leaves presented anatomical differences to the different areas studied, for B. coccolobifolia the presence of phenolic sheath in the populations of Providência and São Judas Tadeu, and in B. verbascifolia the sclerified sheath in the plants of Canaã, Providência and São Judas Tadeu, both act against loss of water in environments where the soil has little water retention, a characteristic found in the soil of Providência. The micromorphometric analysis revealed differences in the spongy parenchyma of B. coccolobifolia in the plants of São Judas Tadeu, demonstrating that the greater thickness of this tissue facilitates the diffusion of CO2, and the thicker abaxial epidermis in B. verbascifolia, typical of plants that are exposed to high luminosity. In the B. verbascifolia plants of the Providência population, the palisade parenchyma was smaller, due to its distribution in more shaded areas. Xeromorphic features such as: thick cuticle, trichomes and many stomata, show that these species are well adapted to the Cerrado.