Anatomy of 31 species from Mimosoideae (Leguminosae) subfamily on Venezuela

This paper is about the wood anatomy of 31 species, belonging to 17 genera, of the Mimosoideae subfamily (Leguminosae), proceeding from different geographical regions of Venezuela. For each species, one to five individuals were studied. The descriptions were realized according to the IAWA Committee(1989). The studied species may be divided in two groups according to the presence or absence of septate fibers. All species of Inga showed septate fibers, whereas Albizia and Enterolobium included species with septate fibers and also species with non-septate fibers. The quantitative characteristics of the vessels and the width of rays showed sufficient variation as to be considered important characteristics from ataxonomic point of view. The most common parenchyma type was vasicetric, aliform and confluent. In Calliandra laxa, Prosopis juliflora and Zygia longifolia the main parenchyma type was in wide bands; whereas in Cedrelinga cateniformis, the main parenchyma type was thin vasicentric. All species studied, with the exception of Cedrelinga cateniformis, presented prismatic crystals in the parenchymatous axials cells. In spite of finding certain anatomical uniformity, it was possible to elaborate a key for the identification of the studied species.