Several species in the genus Axonopus are commonly used as forage milk cattle to feed in southern Brazil. However, little is known about the anatomy of these plants. In this work, the structural features of leaves and stems of Axonopus scoparius (Flügge) Kuhlm. and A. fissifolius (Raddi) Kuhlm. are described. The samples were collected in Itajaí, SC and processed for light and scanning electron microscopy histological studies. The Kranz structure was found in both species. The speciescould be distinguished by the presence of bulliform cells in the leaf blade upper epidermis of A. fissifolius and the absence of these cells in A. scoparius and by the presence of unicellular macrohairs in the leaf blade upper epidermis of A. scoparius and the absence of these strutures in A. fissifolius.
Axonopus fissifolius; Axonopus scoparius; forage; Kranz; plant anatomy
