The present work describes the morphology, anatomy, and ontogeny of the pericarp and pappus of Bidens gardneri Baker and B. pilosa L., species of Heliantheae (Asteraceae). Both species were found to be very similar, having inferior ovaries that are bicarpel, syncarpic, and unilocular. The pericarp develops by cell elongation, without a multiplicative phase. The exocarp is uniseriate and covered by a cuticle, with multicellular tector trichomes that persist until maturity. The outer mesocarp has three layers of parenchyma cells in B. pilosa, while B. gardneri has five cell layers. The median region of the mesocarp has from four to eight layers in both species, and there are collateral vascular bundles between the median region of the mesocarp and the inner mesocarp. The endocarp is uniseriate, although it is bi- to tri-seriate in the fusion region of carpels. The deposition of phytomelanin occur between outer and median mesocarp, earlier in B. pilosa. A protuberance can be seen where the aristate pappus is inserted at the apex of the pericarp; the pappus is formed by three to four rigid bristles that have trichomes towards their bases. There is a small projection (the carpopodium) at the base of the fruit where it attaches to the axis of the inflorescence. At maturity, the pericarp of both species becomes dehydrated, and in B. pilosa the pericarp layers are more collapsed; dehydration also occurs in B. gardneri, but some cells of the exocarp and outer mesocarp remain distinct.
anatomy; development; fruit; morphology; pappus
