We studied the leaf of 22 species of Melastomataceae (tribe Miconieae, Tibouchinieae e Microlicieae) from the cerrado of São Paulo State. In all representatives the leaves are dorsiventral and hypostomatic and present bicollateral vascular bundles in the midrib (except for one species). Some features such as type and position of the stomata and the aspect of the midrib surface vary even within a single genus. Other features like cuticle thickness, thricomes morphology, and occurrence or not of emergences, percentage of palisade parenchyma and position and shape of the main vascular bundle may help on the characterization of each genus when analyzed as a hole, within the tribes. These features are described for the 22 species and discussed in a systematic context.
cerrado; leaf anatomy; Melastomataceae
