Ecological anatomy of Eugenia punicifolia DC

The species Eugenia punicifolia (Kunth) DC. (myrtle) occurs in the coastal region of the state of Ceara and has ecological and medicinal importance. This study aimed to characterize the leaf anatomy of myrtle (E. punicifolia) in the rainy and dry seasons, as well as in the sun and shade in the restinga region of the state of Ceara and to contribute to the understanding of the morphoanatomic variations in response to the natural conditions of the occurrence of this species. For this, collections of fully expanded leaves were performed at the Botanical Park of Ceara and fixed in FAA70, being replaced by 70% ethanol after 24 hours. The usual anatomical procedures were then performed in order to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze the leaf blade, petiole and epidermis structures. As a result, it was found that myrtle has xeromorphic characteristics such as thick cuticle, hypoestomatic leaf and sclerenchyma fibers in the median vein vascular bundles. It was concluded that E. punicifolia has great plasticity to adjust well under the analyzed conditions. Index terms: Coastal vegetation, myrtle, anatomical plasticity, seasonality, luminosity. A especie Eugenia punicifolia (Kunth) DC. (murta) ocorre em regiao de litoral, no Estado do Ceara, e possui importancia ecologica e medicinal. A presente pesquisa objetivou caracterizar a anatomia foliar da murta (E. punicifolia), nas estacoes de chuva e seca, bem como ao sol e a sombra, na Restinga cearense, pretendendo contribuir para a compreensao das variacoes morfoanatomicas em resposta as condicoes naturais de ocorrencia da especie. Para isso, foram realizadas coletas, no Parque Estadual Botanico do Ceara, de folhas totalmente expandidas e fixadas em FAA70, sendo substituido por etanol a 70%, apos 24 horas. Seguiu-se para os procedimentos anatomicos usuais, a fim de analisar qualitativa e quantitativamente as estruturas da lamina foliar, do peciolo e da epiderme. Como resultado obteve-se que a murta apresenta caracteristicas xeromorficas, como cuticula espessa, folha hipoestomatica e fibras de esclerenquima nos feixes vasculares da nervura mediana. Portanto, conclui-se que a E. punicifolia possui grande plasticidade por conseguir ajustar-se bem nas condicoes analisadas. Termos para indexacao: Vegetacao litoranea, murta, plasticidade anatomica, sazonalidade, luminosidade.