Comparative leaf anatomy of Psidium cattleyanum Sab. (Myrtaceae)

Abstract

Psidium cattleyanum Sab. is a native specie from Brazil that grows both in sand coastal (restinga) and in the tropical rain forest, presenting great phenotypic plasticity when individuais from these two piant associations are compared. The present work was developed aiming to comparatively analyze morpho-anatomic aspects of the leaves of these two individuaIs growing in the associations of the tropical rain forest and ofthe sand coastal. The individual of the P. cattleyanum that grows in the restinga association presented a larger concentration of phenolic compounds in relation to the one that grows in the rain forest, presenting also smaller foliage area, larger thickness of the leaf, and bigger number of stomata per square millimeter. The individual that grows in the rain forest has an evident bigger cuticle accumulation density than the one presented in the individual from the restinga, that leads to the hypothesis that this larger accumulation is an adaptative strategy to attenuate the hervivory effect.