Anatomía foliar comparada de Pinus caribaea var. caribaea y P. tropicalis (Pinaceae) en asociación simpátrica

Variations in needle anatomy can be an adaptative or acclimatization response to the edaphoclimatic stress among population, particularly in those facing extreme environments. Pinus caribaea var. caribaea and P. tropicalis are distributed in western Cuba, mainly in Pinar del Rio province, forming pure stands or in sympatric populations. The aim of this study is to compare distinctive anatomy characteristics of the needle of both taxa in the localities where they are sympatrically associated. Cross sections of the needles were done and 14 anatomical variables are assessed. The statistical analyses clearly differentiate both taxa, concluding that each have their own variations to adapt to the same environment. The principal component analysis showed that the populations of each taxon segregate according to the edatope where they grow. For P. caribaea var. caribaea the anatomical variables that most contributed the variation and classification were: the number of stomata, thickness and number of band of cells of the hypodermis; in P. tropicalis it was the thickness of the cuticle and the chlorophyllic parenchyma, and for each taxon the type of resin canal was unequivocally endonal and marginal. Citation: Perez-del Valle, L., Geada-Lopez, G. & Sotolongo-Sospedra, R. 2020. Anatomia foliar comparada de Pinus caribaea var. caribaea y P. tropicalis ( Pinaceae ) en asociacion simpatrica. Revista Jard. Bot. Nac. Univ. Habana 41: 163-174. Article history : Received: 14 July 2020. Accepted: 30 September 2020. Online: 28 December 2020. Editor: Jose Angel Garcia-Beltran.