Structure of the secondary xylem of Aniba Aubl. species from the Brazilian Amazon

SHORT COMMUNICATIONS

Structure of the secondary xylem of Aniba Aubl. species from the Brazilian Amazon

Cláudia Viana Urbinati^I,V; Roseny Cristina Ribeiro da Silva^I; Simonne Sampaio da Silva^II; Pedro Luiz Braga Lisboa^III; Fábio Akira Mori^IV

^IUniversidade do Estado do Pará, Paragominas, PA, Brazil

^IIUniversidade Federal Rural da Amazônia, Paragominas, PA, Brazil

^IIIMuseu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Belém, PA, Brazil

^IVUniversidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras, MG, Brazil

^VAuthor for correspondence: [e-mail]

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to characterize the wood of Aniba species from the Brazilian Amazon, on the basis of specimens in the wood collection of the Herbarium of the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, in the city of Belém, Brazil. The species were found to present a homogeneous structure in the secondary xylem, as defined by the location of oil cells; the presence of tyloses and crystals; and singularities of the radial and axial parenchyma.

Key words: Anatomy of wood, identification of wood, Lauraceae

The genus Aniba is represented by 26 species that are of great importance for the production of essential oils. For instance, the species Aniba rosaeodora Ducke, known in Brazil as pau-rosa (Brazilian rosewood), was intensively harvested for commercial purposes in the 1990s for the extraction of linalool, which is used by the perfume industry (Marques 2001). Trees and shrubs of the Aniba genus are difficult to identify in the forest. The identification is mainly based on floral aspects and the morphology of the organs (Quinet 2005). Data regarding the intrinsic aspects of the structure of the secondary xylem of Aniba species are scarce and contradictory (Richert 1981, 1987; León & Pernia 2000).

The identification of Aniba species is fundamental, because the active principles that constitute the oils can differ, quantitatively and qualitatively, among species, which can negatively affect their end use in the case of incorrect identification. Although crucial in this context, the number of studies that contribute to such identification is not proportional to the great species diversity within the genus. The aim of the present work was to characterize the wood of 13 Aniba species that occur in the Brazilian Amazon. To that end, we evaluated specimens available in the Walter Alberto Egler wood collection of the Herbarium of the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi (code, MG), located in the city of Belém, in the state of Pará, Brazil. Our objective was to contribute to the identification of Aniba species and to augment the database of the Virtual Xylotheque of Amazonian Wood. The study was based on the material available in the collection, together with the corresponding botanical material on deposit at the herbarium, for the following species: Aniba affinis (Meisn.) Mez; A. canellila (Kunth) Mez; A. citrifolia (Nees) Mez; A. cylindriflora Kosterm.; A. fragrans Ducke; A. gigantifolia O. C. Schmidt; A. guianensis Aubl.; A. hostmanniana (Nees) Mez; A. megaphylla Mez; A. parviflora (Meisn.) Mez; A. puchury-minor (Mart.) Mez; A. riparia (Nees) Mez and A. rosaeodora Ducke. The descriptions followed the guidelines established by the International Association of Wood Anatomists (IAWA Committee 1989).

The species studied presented distinct growth layers delimited by the thickening of fiber cell walls in cross sections of latewood. We found that A. hostmanniana was ring porous (Fig. 1A), whereas the remaining species were all diffuse porous, with solitary, circular pores in an undefined arrangement. In A. canellila, A. citrifolia and A. puchury-minor, some of the tyloses were sclerotic. The vessel elements presented simple perforation plates and alternate intervessel pits, except in A. hostmanniana, which had scalariform intervessel pits (Fig. 1B). For rays, the following characteristics were observed: ray-vessel pits with reduced angular areolae. Septate fibers were found. In A. affinis, A. canellila, A. gigantifolia, A. guianensis and A. puchury-minor the axial parenchyma was sparse paratracheal-vasicentric or sparse vasicentric, whereas it was consistently paratracheal-vasicentric in A. citrifolia, A. megaphylla, A. parviflora and A. rosaeodora. In A. cylindriflora and A. fragrans, the axial parenchyma was vasicentric, occasionally presenting lines simulating the border lines. We observed a very short paratracheal lozenge-aliform axial parenchyma in A. hostmanniana and A. riparia. Body ray cells were procumbent, with one to three rows of upright or square marginal cells (Fig. 1C), biseriate. Fused rays were observed in A. puchury-minor. Prismatic crystals were seen on the procumbent ray cells of A. affinis, A. cylindriflora, A. gigantifolia, A. parviflora and A. riparia (Fig. 1D). Oil cells were observed in all of the species studied. However, the location differed among species, oil cells being located on the ray, the fibers (Fig. 1E) or the axial parenchyma (Fig. 1F), as did the frequency. The quantitative characteristics of each species are described in Table 1.

The Aniba species studied here presented very similar anatomies, which can be characterized by the location of oil cells; the obstruction of vessels by tyloses; the peculiarities of radial and axial parenchyma; and the presence of crystals. Our findings are in accordance with the available literature for species of this genus, including some from the Venezuelan Amazon (Loureiro 1976; Richter 1981, 1987; Silva et al. 1992; León & Pernia 2000; Silva 2001; Wheeler et al. 2006; Parra 2009; Sakala et al. 2010), in which taxonomic importance is placed on characteristics such as the location of oil cells; the presence of septate fibers, tyloses and crystals; the type of axial parenchyma; the types of perforation plates; and the types of intervessel pits. Divergences in the scalariform intervessel pit observed in A. hostmanniana might be related to the evolution of the species.

Received: December 21, 2012. Accepted: January 14, 2014

• International Association of Wood Anatomists - IAWA List. 1989. List of microscope features for hardwood identification. IAWA Bulletin New Series 10(3): 219-332.
• León, W.J. & Pernia, N.E. 2000. Estudio anatómico del leño de ocho espécies del género Aniba Aublet (Lauraceae). Revista Florestal Venezuelana 44(1): 37-46.
• Loureiro, A.A. 1976. Estudo anatômico macro e microscópico de 10 espécies de Aniba (Lauraceae) da Amazônia. Acta Amazonica 6(2): Suplemento.
• Marques, C.A. 2001. Importância econômica da família Lauraceae Lindl. Floresta e Ambiente 8(1): 195-206.
• Parra, M.J.S. 2009. Wood anatomy and identification of seven species of Laurales in San Eusebio Forest (Mérida, Venezuela). Pittieria 33: 59-77.
• Quinet, A. 2005. Sinopse taxonômica da família Lauraceae no Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Acta Botanica Brasilica 19(3): 563-572.
• Richter, H.G. 1981. Wood and bark anatomy of Lauraceae. I. Aniba Aublet. IAWA Bulletin n.s. (2): 79-87.
• Richter, H.G. 1987. Lauraceae. Mature secondary xylem. Pp. 167-171. In: Metcalfe, C.R. (Ed.). Anatomy of the dicotyledons: 2º ed. Vol. III: Oxford, Claredon Press.
• Sakala, J.; Rapprich, V. & Pécskay, Z. 2010. Fossil angiosperm wood and its host deposits from the periphery of a dominantly effusive ancient volcano (Doupovské hory Volcanic Complex, Oligocene-Lower Miocene, Czech Republic): systematics, volcanology, geochronology and taphonomy: Bulletin of Geosciences 85(4): 617-629.
• Silva, A.C.; Freitas, J.A. & Vasconcellos, F.J. 1992. Ocorrência de fibras lenhosas septadas em madeiras da Amazônia. Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Série Botânica 8(2): 191-201.
• Silva, A.C. 2001. Ocorrência de cristais no tecido xilemático de espécies arbóreas tropicais. Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Série Botânica 17(2): 277-295.
• Wheeler, E.A.; Simpson, T.D.; Rogers, S.L.; Garsson, P.E.; Brown, K.R.; Barlett, J.R. & Baas, P. 2006 Inside wood: a new internet - accessible wood anatomy database Disponível em: http://insidewood.lib.ncsu.ed/search/ Acesso em: 20 outubro 2012.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  02 Oct 2014
• Date of issue
  Sept 2014

History

• Received
  21 Dec 2012
• Accepted
  14 Jan 2014