XVI International Botanical Congess
The wood anatomical variation of Alchornea sidifolia was investigated. This species is native in the lowland Atlantic rainforest located at the Biological Reserve of Poço das Antas, RJ, Brazil. This forest contains large patches of unflooded soils (S1) and periodically flooded soils (S2). Samples were taken from s1 and S2 collection sites and the wood anatomy was compared. Production of hypertrophied lenticels, adventitious roots or aerenchyma tissue were snot observed. Distinct tension wood (G-layer), wider and shorter vessels, smaller numbers of vessels/mm2 and larger proportion of axial parenchyma were observed on the S2 specimens, suggesting that gelatinous layer will can be can be contributed for water storage and maintenance adequate supply of water, when the O2 supply is severely limited, resulting on reduction of amount of water available for uptake by plants, (Financial support: Petrobras, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, FAPERJ, CNPq and CAPES).