Wood anatomy of Cuban species of leptocereus (Cactaceae)

Abstract

Leptocereus, a genus with its centre of diversity in Cuba, has about five different assemblages of species based on floral features. However, flowers are not always available when identifying plants. Considering wood as a conservative tissue and its previous contributions to the taxonomy and systematics of flowering plants, the wood anatomy of L. arboreus and L. scopulophilus is described and compared with other species of the genus. In wood anatomy, L. arboreus, from central Cuba, differs from the western species by the presence of scalariform intervessel pits, a feature also reported for L. quadricostatus, a species of Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands. This fact might indicate that L. arboreus is probably more similar to the eastern species of the genus. Leptocereus scopulophilus is characterized by the predominance of septate fibres and solitary vessels. All the studied Cuban species of Leptocereus have druses in ray cells, a distinct characteristic in Cactoideae.