Some ecological trends based on wood were established in woody florulas of several regions in Brazil. Growth rings and qualitative vessel features were analysed in trees belonging to the 22 most representative families of the Brazilian flora, including 133 genera, 491 species and 686 specimens. Some ecological trends were statistically proven by Pearsonʼs Standardised Residues. The presence of growth rings was associated with seasonal environments. Vessels tended to show special arrangement patterns at higher latitudes and in environments affected by thermal seasonality. Vessels in multiples were more common in environments that were seasonal for temperature and humidity. Although not statistically significant, there is a trend for multiple perforation plates and helical thickenings to be most common in higher latitudes and colder environments. Overall, the results for Brazilian species are compatible with trends established by other authors for other floras and /or taxa.

-(Comparative wood anatomy of Copaifera langsdorffii Desf. (Leguminosae-Caesalpinoideae) in forest and "cerradão"). The present study compares qualitative and quantitative characters of the wood of a tree species (Copaifera langsdorffii Desf.-Leguminosae-Caesalpinoideae) from semideciduous mesophytic forest and "cerradão". Analysis revealed vessels with significantly larger diameter in trees from "cerradão" and intervascular pits being significantly larger in trees from forest. In contrast to the trees from the forest, gelatinous fibers, which have a special layer innermost of the wall, were found in great quantity in trees from "cerradão". Furthermore, the presence of subdivided marginal parenchyma and the absence of axial canals in some of the parenchyma bands are for the first time mentioned for this species.RESUMO -(Anatomia comparada do lenho de Copaifera langsdorffii Desf. (Leguminosae-Caesalpinoideae) de floresta e cerradão). O presente estudo compara a estrutura do lenho de uma espécie arbórea (Copaifera langsdorffii Desf.) que ocorre em floresta mesófila semidecídua e em cerradão. Objetivou-se verificar diferenças estruturais qualitativas e quantitativas nos espécimes em relação aos dois ecossistemas. A análise estatística revelou um maior diâmetro tangencial dos vasos nos espécimes do cerradão e um maior diâmetro tangencial das pontoações intervasculares nos espécimes da floresta, ambos ao nível de 0,05. Fibras gelatinosas foram encontradas em maior quantidade nos espécimes do cerradão quando comparadas com os espécimes da floresta. A presença de um parênquima marginal que se subdivide e algumas faixas parenquimáticas que não apresentam canais axiais são pela primeira vez mencionadas em Copaifera langsdorfii.

Some ecological trends in wood anatomy were established in florulas from several regions in Brazil. Characteristics of the axial and radial parenchyma and fibres were analyzed in trees belonging to 22 families of the Brazilian flora, including 133 genera, 491 species and 686 specimens. Some ecological trends were statistically supported by Pearson’s Standardised Residues. At lower latitudes, the axial parenchyma was predominantly paratracheal and more abundant; the rays were thinner, and the fibre walls thicker. At higher latitudes, the parenchyma was predominantly apotracheal and not so abundant, the rays were wider and the fibre walls thinner. Fibre wall thickness was related to humidity. Thinner walls were found in more humid environments, thicker walls were associated with drier environments. No trends for ray composition were identified. Overall, the results for Brazilian species are compatible with trends established by other authors.

-(Comparative anatomy study on wood and bark of two Eugenia L. species (Myrtaceae)). The wood and bark anatomy of Eugenia cerasiflora Miq. and E. uniflora L. is described. The species have a uniform wood anatomy, whereas the bark anatomy is highly variable between species. Based on wood anatomy the genus can be distinguished by the type of axial parenchyma and presence of crystals. The bark is distinguished based on the type and distribution of sclerenchymatic tissues, the types of periderm and rhytidome. The differences found in wood and bark anatomy among species show their importance for identification purposes.RESUMO -(Estudo anatômico comparativo do lenho e da casca de duas espécies de Eugenia L. (Myrtaceae)). A anatomia do lenho e da casca de Eugenia cerasiflora Miq. e E. uniflora L. são descritas no presente trabalho. As espécies apresentam a anatomia do lenho relativamente uniforme, enquanto a anatomia da casca mostra diferenças mais evidentes. As espécies diferenciam-se, em relação ao lenho, quanto ao tipo de parênquima axial e presença de cristais. Quanto à casca tem-se, como características que individualizam as espécies, o tipo e o arranjo das células esclerificadas no floema, tipo de periderme e presença de ritidoma. O presente trabalho mostra a importância da anatomia da casca, aliada à do lenho, para a separação e identificação de espécies.

Fifty-one Brazilian species and varieties of Swartzia Schreber and eight other genera from the tribe Swartzieae were examined. Features with the greatest diagnostic value for the tribe are intervascular pit size, ray width and frequency, storied structure, axial parenchyma strand length, parenchyma band width, and vessel diameter. We analyzed the wood anatomical data using average linkage cluster analysis and canonical discriminant analysis. With weighted features, cluster analysis grouped the species and varieties of Swartzia into four distinct groups and tribe Swartzieae into seven groups. With unweighted features for both Swartzia and Swartzieae, the canonical discriminant analysis showed that linear combinations of the variables storied structure, number of tiers per millimetre, axial parenchyma strand length, ray height, intervascular pit size, and exclusively uniseriate rays were good discriminators among the groups. We discuss the grouping of the species of Swartzia and compare other genera within the tribe Swartzieae to the four groups of Swartzia.