Foliar anatomy and microscopy of six Brazilian species of Baccharis (Asteraceae)

Abstract

We report for the first time the presence of cluster crystals of calcium oxalate within the glandular trichomes and oil bodies in the mesophyll for Baccharis species. Moreover, the comparative leaf anatomy and micro-morphology of six species of Baccharis, namely B. illinita, B. microdonta, B. pauciflosculosa, B. punctulata, B. reticularioides, and B. sphenophylla is investigated by light and scanning electron microscopy. The studied species exhibited differences in their leaf anatomical features such as the morphology of the cuticle, type and occurrence of the stomata, presence or absence of glandular trichomes, shape of the flagelliform trichomes, and the arrangement of the mesophyll tissues. These differences can be helpful in the species identification and classification and could represent informative characters for the reconstruction of the evolution of the genus.

Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of The Essential Oil And Anatomical Markers Of Lavandula Dentata L. Cultivated In Brazil

“…It is also used in the ornamentation and as a melliferous plant [8][9][10][11][12][13][14] . Two problems are linked with medicinal and herbal drug plants, the adulteration and tampering 15,16 . For species of Lavandula is even worse because they have great hybridization capacity and morphological diversity that makes difficult to identify them 17 .…”

Anatomy, micromorphology, and histochemistry of leaves and stems of Cantinoa althaeifolia (Lamiaceae)

“…Glandular trichomes represent one of the types of secretory structures of aromatic plants and produce and accumulate secondary metabolites with biological activities as seen in several families such as Asteraceae (Budel et al, a, b; Pereira et al, ), Lamiaceae (Conti et al, ; Justus et al, ), and Verbenaceae (Passos et al, ). The micromorphology, number, and distribution of glandular trichomes can be useful as distinguishing features at the subfamily level of Lamiaceae (Ascensão, Marques, & Pais, ).…”

Essential Oils of Five Baccharis Species: Investigations on the Chemical Composition and Biological Activities

“…In Asteraceae, EOs are biosynthesized and accumulated in various secretory structures, such as idioblast oil cells, oil cavities, secretory ducts, and glandular trichomes [ 46 ]. In Baccharis , EOs can be found in roots, stems, leaves and flowers [ 35 , 47 , 48 ], and are stored in secretory ducts and glandular trichomes [ 4 ].…”

“…Modern techniques, such as DNA barcoding, have emerged recently and are often used in plant identification [ 50 ]. Considering the morphological similarities among Baccharis species [ 4 ], all four genomic regions, namely ITS, ETS, psbA-trnH, and trnL-trnF were subjected to amplification and sequencing in order to provide molecular data for the differentiation of the species. Only two samples (ECT0000641, ECT0000642) resulted in an ETS PCR product and consequently sequence data.…”

“…However, the correct identification of different Baccharis species is challenging due to their morphological similarities. Moreover, many different species of Baccharis are collectively called “vassouras” in Brazil, causing further confusion [ 4 ].…”