The morphology and anatomy of the vegetative organs of Piper crassinervium H.B & K. (jaborandi) are here described with the purpose of contributing to taxonomical and pharmacobotanical studies. The material was analyzed according to usual techniques in these researches. The species is a shrub, with erect and cylindrical stem. The leaves are stipulate and alternate. The main characteristics that can be used in its identification are: cortical parenchyma of the root with sclereids, stem cortex with discontinuous strands of collenchyma, and vascular tissue constituted of two discontinuous circles of collateral vascular bundles; dorsiventral and hypostomatic leaves, with ciclocytic, and tetracytic stomata, and uniseriate hypodermis, but with 1-3 cells layers in midrib; chlorophilian parenchyma contains lipid idioblasts; glandular trichomes occur in uniseriate epidermis of the leaf and idioblasts with small acicular crystals occur in all organs.
Piper crassinervium; morphology; anatomy; root; stem; leaf
