Abstract

MONTANO-ARIAS, Susana Adriana; CAMARGO-RICALDE, Sara Lucía  and  PEREZ-OLVERA, Carmen de la Paz. Ecological anatomy of the vessel elements in the wood of five species of the genus Mimosa (Leguminosae-Mimosoideae). Bot. sci [online]. 2013, vol.91, n.1, pp.1-10. ISSN 2007-4476.

Mimosa is the genus with more species of Mimosoideae (Leguminosae) in Mexico; they establish from sea level to 2,850 m elevation. To estimate the tolerance to water stress of five Mimosa species, some wood anatomical characteristics of vessel elements were compared and the wood mesomorphy and vulnerability ratios calculated. Three plants per species were studied and transverse sections and macerations were prepared from the stem. The mesomorphy and vulnerability ratios were estimated considering vessel diameter, vessels/mm², and vessel element length. The five species showed numerous vessels (17 - 32) and short vessel elements (150 - 221 μm) with small diameters (58 - 75 μm), except M. tenuiflora, with medium sized diameter (104 μm). In the studied species, the mesomorphy ratio > 200 matchs up to a mesomorphic wood and the vulnerability ratio > 1 suggests a low resistant to water stress. The highest vulnerability ratio value corresponds to M. tenuiflora (6.26) and the lowest to M. leucaenoides (1.81). The results generated in this study are important to select plant species for ecological restoration purposes.

Keywords : ecological anatomy; Mimosa; water stress; wood.

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