This work constitutes a pharmacobotanical study of Tocoyena formosa (Cham. & Schltdl.) K. Schum., a species used in folk medicine for rheumatic pains in Northeastern Brazil. The botanical identification and macroscopical morphodiagnosis were carried out by morphological studies. The microscopical morphodiagnosis were realized byparadermic and transversal cuts of the leaves (blades and petiole) and stained with safranin or mixture of safranin and astrablue. The blade leaf is subcoriaceous and oblong-lanceolate to elliptic, densely tomentose in the abaxial surface. T. formosa has hypostomatic leaves with stomata of the paracitic type; unisseriate epidermis with polygonal cells; the mesophyll is dorsiventral and the parenchyma palisade has sparse idioblasts crystallifer, isolated or paired; trichomes simple were evident in the epidermis of both faces. The vascular system was formed by two accessories bundles in the adaxial surface and by one central vascular bundle in arc with invaginate extremities on the proximal portion of petiole, and in shape of "V-closed" on distal portion of the petiole and main vein. The vegetative and reproductive morphologies associate to the anatomy of mesophyll and vascular system constitute a set of characters distinctive for this species.
Tocoyena formosa; Rubiaceae; medicinal plants; pharmacobotany
