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Foliar anatomy of Beaucarnea Lemaire (Nolinaceae ss)

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Abstract

Beaucarnea (Nolinaceae) is a Mexican and Guatemalan genus that inhabits dry tropical areas. Most of the species are endangered under the Mexican legislation because they have a high horticultural demand and are threatened by habitat destruction. Species are difficult to recognize, since their differences are a mixture of trunk, inflorescence and fruit characters frequently absent in herbarium specimens. The aim of this work is to describe the foliar anatomy of the 11 species of Beaucarnea in search of characters with taxonomic value to sustain the generic subdivision, and to provide a key for specimens determination based on leaf and growth form. We found that four species (B. compacta, B. gracilis, B. purpusii and B. stricta) have a grooved leaf outline in transverse section, whereas the rest of the species are undulated. Other characters, such as epicuticular waxes, stomatal distribution and density, marginal teeth length and leaf apex provide valuable characters for species determination.

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Acknowledgments

Funding was provided by SINAREFI-SAGARPA through the project ORN-PTA-10-6. Oliva Ramírez Segura helped to process the histological samples, and Ana Lucía Tovar Álvarez the MEB preparations. Miguel Angel Pérez Farrara collected the samples of B. sanctomariana, and Celene Espadas aided in field work of B. pliabilis. Maricela Gómez and Teresa Terrazas provided valuable comments on earlier manuscript drafts. D. Bogler and J. Mauseth carefully reviewed our manuscript. We are grateful to all of them.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Licenciatura en Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Av. de las Ciencias s/n, Juriquilla, 76230, Querétaro, Querétaro, Mexico

    Mahinda Martínez & Luis Hernández-Sandoval

  2. Unidad de Recursos Naturales, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, Calle 43 No. 130, Colonia Chuburná de Hidalgo, 97200, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico

    Lilia Carrillo

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  1. Mahinda Martínez
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  2. Luis Hernández-Sandoval
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  3. Lilia Carrillo
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Correspondence to Luis Hernández-Sandoval.

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Martínez, M., Hernández-Sandoval, L. & Carrillo, L. Foliar anatomy of Beaucarnea Lemaire (Nolinaceae ss). Plant Syst Evol 300, 2249–2258 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-014-1048-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-014-1048-2

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