Abstract
Seedling morphoanatomy and leaf comparison in juvenile and adult stages of Piptocarpha angustifolia (Asteraceae). Morphology studies of the first development stages of plants allow the observation of transitory structures that disappear when they become mature. The aim of this study is to analyse the morphological and anatomical aspect of the structure of Piptocarpha angustifolia, in seendling, juvenile and adult stages, in order to get up diagnostic characteristics of the species, especially in the early stages of development. P. Angustifolia is a native arboreous species from Mixed Ombrophylous Mountain Forest. Samples were collected and fixed in FAA 50 from cultivated plants (13 and 35 days after germination) and leaves of juvenile and adults stages in the field. The characters as types of germination (phanerocotylar and epigeal) and leaf morphology allow the recognition of seedlings and saplings in the forest. The structural characters that can aid in the recognition of the species are: the root/stem transition zone; the trilacunar cotyledon node; the unilacunar eophyll node; the presence of hydathodes in eophyll; the variation in the number of vascular bundles in the petiole and midrib checked in leaf types; the variation in shape and number of mesophyll cells of cotyledons, and eophylls metaphylls.
Key words:
cotyledons; post seminal development; eophyll; metaphyll; seedling
