Abstract
BackgroundThe anatomical traits associated with water deficit are also observed in plants growing in poor soils. The species may resist water deficit through three main strategies: escape, avoid or tolerate. The Pedregal de San Ángel Ecological Reserve (REPSA), Mexico, is an environment with low nutrient soil and low water availability. It is set on the basalt formation derived from the Xitle volcano eruption. The main vegetation type is characterized as xerophytic shrub. Thus we expect that species growing in this community will show leaf xeromorphic traits and may have any of the three response strategies. We analyzed the foliar anatomy of 52 species of the Asteraceae family at the REPSA because it is the most abundant angiosperm family in the site, showing a wide variety of growth forms and anatomical variation.ResultsThe foliar anatomies of the studied Asteraceae were highly variable as well as their quantitative traits as revealed by principal component analysis. This agrees with previous studies that found great anatomical variation within the family. Leaves have multiple layered palisade parenchyma and parenchyma bundle sheaths and could not be categorized as xeromorphic because they possess mesomorphic leaf features as simple lamina, single-layered epidermis, and soft large-size glabrous leaves with high specific leaf area.ConclusionsThe combination of mesomorphic and few xeromorphic foliar traits with other characters at the genus and tribal level probably has been essential in Asteraceae to colonize various environments, including those with low water and nutrient availability.
Highlights
The anatomical traits associated with water deficit are observed in plants growing in poor soils
Drought-escaping species generally are annual or biannual herbs that develop their life-cycle in short time periods when conditions are favorable (Kramer 1983; Santos and Ochoa 1990; Fahn and Cutler 1992; Valladares et al 2004) or they usually possess perennation structures, such as bulbs, rhizomes or runners that remain latent until conditions are favorable again
We hypothesize that Asteraceae species at this ecological protected area (REPSA) will show anatomical traits for avoiding or tolerating stress, the aim of this study was to characterize the foliar anatomy of a sample of 52 species belonging to 41 genera and 13 tribes of Asteraceae living in the xeric environment of this reserve
Summary
The anatomical traits associated with water deficit are observed in plants growing in poor soils. The Pedregal de San Ángel Ecological Reserve (REPSA), Mexico, is an environment with low nutrient soil and low water availability. It is set on the basalt formation derived from the Xitle volcano eruption. Plants growing under xeric conditions can have a set of anatomical, physiological or phenological adaptations allowing them to escape, avoid or tolerate water stress (Santos and Ochoa 1990; Fahn and Cutler 1992; Dickison 2000; Valladares et al 2004). It has been hypothesized that xeromorphism has evolved from the adaptation of mesomorphic plants to low nutrient soil (Fahn and Cutler 1992) or to both, the lack of water and poor soils
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