We performed an anatomical survey of Sapindaceae species growing on the private property that supplies liana fragments to the Adere (Association for the Development and Recovery for the Intellectually Disabled), one of the major producer of art wood marquetry made from the lianas from Sao Paulo. Based on species identification, we carried out both morphological and microscopic analyses of the transversal section of lianas stems, with the aim of separating the species based on wood characters. Only one of the seven analyzed species had no cambial variant (Paullinia trigonia Vell.); the rest presented cambial variant of the compound vascular cylinder type. Also, the six remaining species belong to the following genera: Serjania (Serjania caracasana (Jacq.) Willd., Serjania lethalis A. St.-Hill., Serjania laruotteana Cambess., and Serjania multiflora Cambess.) These genera could be distinguished by pith configuration, arrangement and quantity of peripheral vascular cylinders, as well as two statistically significant quantitative features: the diameter and frequency of vessel elements. In this work, a key for species identification and illustrations are presented, in addition to comments about the extractivism carried out by Adere.
Wood anatomy; wood marquetry; Paullinia; Serjania