Solving taxonomic problems within the Aldama genus based on anatomical characters

Abstract

Anatomical characteristics have proved to be an invaluable asset for supporting taxonomic studies on different plant families, such as Asteraceae. Anatomical features can also help clarify taxonomical problems in the Aldama La Llave genus, especially among Brazilian representatives. The present study focussed on Aldama bakeriana, A. discolor, A. grandiflora and A. squalida. These species were chosen because they are difficult to identify taxonomically if the specimens have no flowers, they have biological and pharmacological potential and they are representative species from key morphological groups in the Aldama genus and could help in future taxonomical investigations. Aerial and underground vegetative organs from the four species were described herein for the first time and a comparative analysis was performed to highlight the unique features of each species and determine whether these species can be differentiated in terms of anatomy. All four species analysed were anatomically very similar. However, they could be differentiated on the basis of the set of anatomical features described for each species. On the basis of our findings, we concluded that anatomy is able to provide data to assist with the taxonomic problems within the four species analysed herein. The results also corroborated other studies on the Aldama genus.