Abstract
Pleopeltis is a genus of the family Polypodiaceae, whose circumscription is still unresolved. The genus comprises about 90 species distributed mainly in the Neotropics. The apomorphies of the genus include the presence of persistent peltate scales and foliar nectaries. In Argentina, Pleopeltis macrocarpa (Bory ex. Willd.) Kaulf. is distributed in the Yungas ecoregion and in the Paranaense region. The aims of this work were to analyze the morphoanatomical characteristics and conduct histochemical studies of the glands present in foliar and rhizome scales to evaluate the secretion products. Samples were collected from different localities of Catamarca and Tucumán and deposited at the herbarium of Fundación Miguel Lillo (LIL). Leaves were cleared; cross sections of the lamina, petiole, rhizome and root were made and treated with different stains. The study of the characters mentioned as apomorphic for the genus (scales and nectaries) involved histochemical techniques. The results show that Pleopeltis macrocarpa is a drought-tolerant species and that both the environment characteristics and the anatomical and morphological traits correspond to those of a xeric or semi-xeric plant. This work makes novel contributions regarding the description of glands in foliar and rhizome scales and paraphyses; the determination of chemical compounds of the glands; the description of the cellulosic thickenings in cells of the scale wings, the fimbriae at the base of rhizome scales and glandular hairs in the abaxial epidermis; and the confirmation of the presence of foliar nectaries and description of their structure.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ascenção L, Mota L, de Castro MM (1999) Glandular trichomes on the leaves and flowers of Plectranthus ornatus: morphology, distribution and histochemistry. Ann Bot 84:437–447
Ávila JL, Otero LD (2013) Insectos sobre cayados del helecho invasor Pteridium caudatum en los Andes Venezolanos. Entomotropica 28:99–102
Benzing DH (1990) Vascular epiphytes: general biology and related biota. Academic Press, New York
Bisio A, Corallo A, Gastaldo P, Romussi G, Ciarallo G, Fontana N, de Tommasi N, Profumo P (1999) Glandular hairs and secreted material in Salvia blepharophylla Brandegee ex Epling grown in Italy. Ann Bot 83:441–452
Bruno G, Stiefkens L, LiscovskyI Cosa MT, Dottori N (2007) Efecto de la contaminación ambiental en la anatomía de Ligustrum lucidum (Oleaceae). Boletín de la Sociedad Argentina de Botánica 42:231–236
Clark G (1981) Staining procedures. Baltimore, London
D’Ambrogio de Argüeso A (1986) Manual de técnicas en Anatomía Vegetal. Hemisferio Sur, Buenos Aires
David R, Carde JP (1964) Coloration differentielle des pseudophylles de pin maritime au moyen dure´actif de Nadi. Comptes Rendus de l’ Academie des Sciences 258:1338
De Bary A (1884) Comparative anatomy of the vegetative organs of the phanerogams and ferns. Oxford University Press, London
de Sota ER (1966) Revisión de las especies americanas de grupo Polypodium squamatum L. Polypodiaceae (s. str.). Revista del Museo de la Plata (Nueva Serie), sección Botánica X:69–186
Fahn A (1985) Anatomía vegetal. Ediciones Pirámides, Madrid
Feder N, O’Brien TP (1968) Plant microtechnique: some principles and new methods. Am J Bot 55:123–142
Granados-Sánchez D, López-Ríos GF, Hernández-García MÁ, Sánchez-González A (2003) Ecología de las plantas epífitas. Revista Chapingo Serie Ciencias Forestales y del Ambiente 9:101–111
Guerin HP, Delaveau PG, Paris RR (1971) Localisations histochimiques II: Procédés 327 simples de localization de pigments flavoniques Application à quelques Phanérogrames. Bulletin de la Societé Botanique de France 118:29–36
Hernández MA, Varela RO, Fernández YE, Nadra MG (2011) Caracterización morfológica y anatómica del esporofito de Trachypteris pinnata (Pteridaceae) en relación con xeromofía. Lilloa 48:153–165
Hernández MA, Varela RO, Terán LC, Mata M (2012) Preferencia de hospedero, orientación y anatomía de Pleopeltis minima (Polypodiaceae) en un ambiente urbano. Lilloa 49:105–117
Hernández MA, Terán L, Mata M, Martínez O, Prado J (2013) Helical cell wall thickenings in root cortical cells of Polypodiaceae species from northwestern Argentina. Am Fern J 103:225–240
Hernández-Hernández V, Terrazas T, Mehltreter K, Angeles G (2012) Studies of petiolar anatomy in ferns: structural diversity and systematic significance of the circumendodermal band. Bot J Linn Soc 169:596–610
Hevly RH (1963) Adaptations of cheilanthoid ferns to desert environments. J Ariz Acad Sci 2:164–175
Hietz P (2010) Fern adaptations to xeric environments. In: Mehltreter K, Walker LR, Sharpe JM (eds) Fern ecology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Hooper EA, Haufler CH (1997) Genetic diversity and breeding system in group of neotropical epiphytic ferns (Pleopeltis; Polypodiaceaea). Am J Bot 84:1664–1674
Jensen WA (1962) Botanical histochemistry: principles and practice. W.H. Freeman & Co, San Francisco
Johansen DA (1940) Plant microtechnique. McGraw-Hill, London
Kolb D, Muller M (2004) Light, conventional and environmental scanning electron microscopy of the trichomes of Cucurbita pepo subsp peppo var styriaca and histochemistry of glandular secretory products. Ann Bot 94:515–526
Koptur S, Smith AR, Baker I (1982) Nectaries in some neotropical species of Polypodium (Polypodiaceae): preliminary observations and analyses. Biotropica 14:108–113
Koptur S, Palacios-Rios M, Díaz-Castelazo C, Mackay WP, Rico-Gray V (2013) Nectar secretion on fern fronds associated with lower levels of herbivore damage: field experiments with widespread epiphyte of Mexican cloud forest remnants. Ann Bot 111:1277–1283
Leroux O, Bagniewska-Zadworna A, Rambe SK, Knox JP, Marcus SE, Bellefroid E, Stubbe D, Chabbert B, Habrant A, Claeys M, Viane RLL (2011) Non-lignified helical cell wall thickenings in root cortical cells of Aspleniaceae (Polypodiales): histology and taxonomical significance. Ann Bot 107:195–207
Marazzi B, Bronstein JL, Koptur S (2013) The diversity, ecology and evolution of extrafloral nectarines: current perspectives and future challenges. Ann Bot 111:1243–1250
Mendoza EA, González JA (2011) Las ecorregiones del noroeste argentino basadas en la clasificación climática de Köppen. Series conservación de la naturaleza 19:3–41
Merck E (1980) Dyeing reagents for thin layer and paper chromatography. E. Merck, Darmstadt
Neira DA, Andrada AR, Páez VA, Rodríguez AM, Ríos NF, Martínez OG, Hernández MA (2017) Anatomical, histochemical and cytogenetic features of Doryopteris triphylla (Pteridaceae). Am J Plant Sci 8:907–920
Ogura Y (1972) Comparative anatomy of vegetative organs of the pteridophytes. Gebrüder Bornstraeger, Berlin
Oliveira CS, Salino A, Paiva EAS (2017) Colleters in Thelypteridaceae: unveiling mucilage secretion and its probable role in ferns. Flora 228:65–70
Otto EM, JanBen T, Kreier HP, Schneider H (2009) New insights into the phylogeny of Pleopeltis and related genera (Polypodiaceae, Polypodiopsida). Mol Phylogenet Evol 53:190–201
Page CN (1979) The diversity of ferns: an ecological perspective. In: Dyer AF (ed) The experimental biology of ferns. Academic Press, London
Paiva EAS, Machado SR (2006) Ontogênese, anatomía e ultra-estrutura dos nectários extraflorais de Hymenaea stigonocarpa Mart. ex Hayne (Fabaceae – Caesalpinioideae). Acta Botanica Brasilica 20:471–482
Pandé SK (1935) Notes on the Anatomy of xerophytic fern Niphobolus adnascens from the Malay Peninsula. Proc Indian Acad Sci 9:556–564
Pereira AL, Carrapico F (2007) Histochemistry of simple hairs from the foliar cavities of Azolla filiculoides. Official Journal of the Societa Botanica Italiana 141:323–328
Pessin LJ (1924) A physiological and anatomical study of the leaves of Polypodium polypodioides. Am J Bot 11:370–381
Ponce MM, Arana MD (2016) Licofitas, Helechos, Gymnospermae. In: Zuloaga FO, Belgrano MJ (eds) Flora Vascular de la República Argentina. San Isidro, Buenos Aires
Potes A (2010) Comparative anatomy of the nectaries of Aglaomorpha and Drynaria (Polypodiaceae). Am Fern J 100:80–92
Power MS, Skog JE (1987) Ultrastructure of the extrafloral nectaries of Pteridium aquilinum. Am Fern J 77:1–15
PPG I (2016) A Community-derived classification for extant lycophytes and ferns. J Syst Evol 54:563–603
Prado J, Hirai RY (2010) A new combination in Pleopeltis and some nomenclatural notes related to illustrations validating fern names. Am Fern J 100:189–194
Purvis MJ, Collier DC, Walls D (1964) Laboratory techniques in botany. Butterworths, London
Ramos L, Mellado S, Ramadán S, Bulacio L, López C (2006) Empleo de blanco de calcofluor para el estudio de las especies de Malassezia por microscopía directa. Revista Argentina de Microbiología 38:4–8
Rico-Gray V, Oliveira P (2007) The ecology and evolution of ant-plant interactions. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Rumpf S, Cromey M, Webb CJ (1994) Ultrastructure and function of the nectaries of New Zealand bracken (Pteridium esculentum (Forst. F.) Cockayne). NZ J Bot 32:487–496
Salino A (2009) New combinations in Pleopeltis (Polypodiaceae) from Southeastern Brasil. Am Fern J 99:106–108
Schneider H (1997) Root anatomy of Aspleniaceae and the implications for systematics of the fern family. Fern Gazette 15:160–168
Schneider H, Smith AR, Cranfill R, Hildebrand TE, Haufler CH, Ranker TA (2004) Unraveling the phylogeny of polygrammoid ferns (Polypodiaceae and Grammitidaceae): exploring aspects of diversification of epiphytic plants. Mol Phylogenet Evol 31:1041–1063
Schuettpelz E, Pryer KM (2009) Evidence for the Cenozoic radiation of ferns in an angiosperm-dominated canopy. Proc Natl Acad Sci 106:11200–11205
Schwartsburd PB (2014) The identity of Polypodium gyroflexum (=Pleopeltis gyroflexa, comb. nov. – Polypodiaceae). Am Fern J 104:16–21
Smith AR, Tejero-Díez D (2014) Pleopeltis (Polypodiaceae), a redefinition of the genus and nomenclatural novelties. Bot Sci 92:43–58
Tejero-Díez JD (2009) Los Helechos epífitos: adaptaciones en Polypodiaceae. Red de Información sobre Plantas Epífitas 1:1–14
Tejero-Díez JD, Aguilar-Rodríguez S, Terrazas T, Pacheco L (2010) Arquitectura y anatomía foliar de Polypodium plesiosurum sensu Moran (Polypodiaceae). Revista de Biología Tropical 58:955–976
Villamil N, Márquez-Guzmán J, Boege K (2013) Understanding ontogenetic trajectories of indirect defence: ecological and anatomical constraints in the production of extrafloral nectaries. Ann Bot 112:701–709
Watkins JE, Cardelús CI (2012) Ferns in an Angiosperm world: cretaceous radiation into the epiphytic niche and diversification of the forest floor. Int J Plant Sci 173:695–710
White RA, Turner MD (2012) The anatomy and occurrence of foliar nectaries in Cyathea (Cyatheaceae). Am Fern J 102:91–113
Acknowledgements
This project was funded by Fundación Miguel Lillo, Tucumán, Argentina. We thank Leila Bordón for designing the figures and Ruben Andrada for his help with fluorescent microscope.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
NFR carried out the fieldwork; MAL, GA and MAH were involved in the anatomical studies; AMR, NFR and DAN were involved in the histochemical studies. MAH, DAN and JP wrote the manuscript.
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lagoria, M.d., Avila, G., Neira, D.A. et al. Morphoanatomical and histochemical characteristics of the epiphytic fern Pleopeltis macrocarpa (Polypodiaceae). Braz. J. Bot 41, 739–750 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-018-0474-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-018-0474-8