| Grant number: | 12/01098-1 |
| Support type: | Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation |
| Effective date (Start): | March 01, 2012 |
| Effective date (End): | February 28, 2013 |
| Field of knowledge: | Biological Sciences - Botany - Plant Morphology |
| Principal Investigator: | Veronica Angyalossy |
| Grantee: | Caian Souza Gerolamo |
| Home Institution: | Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil |
Abstract Plant communities are generally constituted of species with different habits: lianoid, arboreal, shrubby and herbaceous. Many plant families present, among their members, species with different habits. It is the formation of the anatomical structure peculiar to each habit what confers characteristics such as mechanical properties for self-support, flexibility, torsion, conduction and regeneration. Lianas, differently from the majority of trees and shrubs usually present cambial variants, wider sieve tubes and vessels, a higher amount of parenchyma and a lower amount of fibers. The present work aims to carry a comparative analysis of stems from species with different habits: lianoid, arboreal, shrubby belonging to the Bignoniaceae. Within the Bignoniaceae, the lianoid and, more rarely shrubby habits, are well represented in tribe Bignonieae, being also present in tribe Tecomeae, as well as habit arboreal. Eleven species with different habits (arboreal, lianoid and shrubby) will be collected from two tribes of the family: Bignonieae and Tecomae. The anatomical procedures will follow the traditional methods used in plant anatomy, consisting of transverse, radial and tangential sections encompassing the periderm, secondary phloem, cambium and secondary xylem. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses will be done for the conducting tissues. With this work we expect to find differences and similarities in form, arrangement, quantity and other anatomical components among the lianoid, arboreal and shrubby habits, something still overlooked within the Bignoniaceae and in plants as whole. | |