ESTUDIOS MORFO-ANATÓMICOS EN ESPECIES DE JUSTICIA (ACANTHACEAE) DEL NORESTE ARGENTINO
MYRIAM C. PEICHOTO 1
ABSTRACT: Peichoto, M. C. 1998. Morpho-anatomic studies in species of Justicia (Acanthaceae) from northeastern Argentina. Darwiniana 36: 13-28.
This paper presents the comparative analysis of the seed morphology and stem structure of 12 species of Justicia Houst. ex L. from the northeastern of Argentina. Even though these species belong to four different sections, all of them have a well developed endodermis in the stem, and a normal structure except in J. laevilinguis (Nees) Lindau that is polystelic. In agreement with Graham (1988) J. dumetorum Morong and J. squarrosa Griseb. belong to sect. Simonisia; J. goudotti V.A.W. Graham, J. lythroides (Nees) V.A.W. Graham, J. oblonga (Nees) Lindau and J. ramulosa V.A.W. Graham to sect. Chaetothylax; J. brasiliana Roth and J. floribunda (C. Koch) Wassh. to sect. Plagiacanthus and J. laevilinguis to sect. Dianthera subsect. Dianthera. Taking into account the analized characters, three species, two of which were previously considered as of uncertain taxonomic position, are tentatively placed within the infrageneric classification of Graham (1988): J. tweediana Griseb. in sect. Plagiacanthus, J. axillaris (Nees) Lindau in sect. Chaetothylax and J. comata (L.) Lam. in sect. Dianthera subsect. Dianthera.
1 Becaria de iniciación de la Secretaría de Ciencia y Técnica, UNNE