Morphology, anatomy and leaf ultrastructure of Froelichia tomentosa (Mart.) Moq. (Amaranthaceae) - a critically endangered species in Brazil
In Brazil, Froelichia tomentosa (Mart.) Moq. has records of occurrence in Rio Grande do Sul (RS) and Bahia, however, in the former there are indications that its populations are extinct. In the RS, the records are restricted to the region of sandy- fields. In this region, biodiversity has been threatened by advances in agriculture and forestry that intensified in the sandy patch process. Therefore, this work aimed to describe the morphoanatomy and ultrastructure of the leaf blade in Froelichia tomentosa, seeking to correlate leaf characteristics to the environmental conditions. Individuals from different populations in the sand- fields (Pampa biome) were sampled. Leaf blade analyzes were performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (MET) and optical microscopy (MO). The following anatomical features were verified: epidermis with trichomes and stomata in the adaxial and abaxial surface, compact mesophyll, aquiferous hypodermis, Kranz anatomy, and numerous plastoglobules and peroxisomes. The presence of these characters may be related to the adaptation of this species to environment. In addition, we highlight the necessity to create conservation units in the sand-fields region, in order to preserve species as well as that of the present study.