Macro and microscopic characters of the aerial vegetative organs of Carqueja: Baccharis usterii Heering

Abstract

This work aimed to study the macro and microscopic characters of the aerial vegetative organs of Baccharis usterii for quality control purposes. The plant was prepared for light and scanning electron microscopic analyses. The stem consisted of three-winged cladodes with small leaves. In the caulinar axis, these was a uniseriate epidermis, chlorenchyma alternating with angular collenchyma, perivascular fibre caps adjoining the phloem which was outside the xylem, and parenchymatic pith. The wings and the leaves were alike, presenting a uniseriate epidermis, palisade parenchyma next to the both sides of the epidermis and spongy parenchyma traversed by minor collateral vascular bundles in the central region. In the leaf midrib, a single collateral vascular bundle was embedded in the ground parenchyma. Secretory ducts and glandular trichomes occured in the stem and leaf.