Morphological, anatomical and ecophysiological modifications caused by flooding in the growth and development of Tabebuia avellanedae Lor. ex Griseb. (Bignoniaceae) were studied and correlated with tolerance to the excess of water in the soil. Three-month-old plants, grown in a greenhouse, underwent a period of 56 days of flooding and a post-flooding period. Photosynthesis rate and growth decreased in T. avellanedae when flooding duration increased. Though not much tolerant, plant adapted itself to short flooding periods. This relative tolerance was probably due to the capacity of T. avellanedae in developing structures which lessened flooding effects and promoted internal diffusion of oxygen from the aerial part to the roots, such as stem fissures, superficial roots and hypertrophied lenticels in the roots. As there was no great variation in the internal anatomy of T. avellanedae leaves and roots, metabolic alterations might have helped in the survival of the species during flooding.
Inundation; oxygen deprivation; ecological anatomy; Tabebuia avellaneadae
