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Systematic Survey of Resin Canals in Roots of Araceae

1987; University of Chicago Press; Volume: 148; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1086/337664

1940-1205

Jim C. French,

Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy Studies

The occurrence and anatomy of resin canals were surveyed in 91 genera and more than 250 species of Araceae. Resin canals occurred in roots of Culcasia, Cercestis, Furtadoa, Homalomena, and Philodendron. They were absent from the roots of Schismatoglottis, which had been reported to have resin cavities in leaves. The principal source of anatomical variation in resin canals was the presence or absence of a sclerenchyma sheath, which was absent from Homalomena, Furtadoa, and Philodendron subgenus Meconostigma. Unusual sclerenchyma strands, lacking a lumen and epithelium, occurred only in some species of Culcasia and Cercestis and provided additional support for their close relationship. The distribution of resin canals is systematically significant because it supports a new system of classification of Araceae by Grayum, in which Culcasia and Cercestis have been moved to the Philodendroideae from the Lasioideae.