Passifloraceae comprises 17 genera and approximately 750 species. The genus Passiflora has about 525 species distributed in tropical regions of the New World, Asia and Australia. Passiflora is subdivided in four subgenera: Astrophea, Decaloba, Passiflora , Deidamioides. The goal of this work is to verify the utility of selected anatomical features as diagnose or taxonomical characters. Three to six individuals of eight species of Passiflora , subgenus Decaloba were used: Passiflora capsularis, Passiflora misera, Passiflora morifolia, Passiflora organensis, Passiflora pohlii, Passiflora suberosa, Passiflora tricuspis and Passiflora vespertilio . Samples were obtained from Herbarium collections of the Herbarium of the Departamento de Botânica da Universidade Federal do Paraná (UPCB) and Museu Botânico Municipal (MBM), Curitiba-PR. For the anatomical study, leaf samples were embedded in Historesin following usual anatomical procedures. Some features can be highlighted as taxonomic useful, and of potential use in phylogenetic studies, such as ornamented cuticle, presence of epidermal papillae and the shape of central vascular system. Results have indicated that detailed studies of papillae structure and types of trichomes might bring additional relevant information for the better understanding of the relations within Decaloba and other subgenera.
secretory structures; leaf; papillae; taxonomy
