COMPARATIVE ANATOMY AND HISTOCHEMISTRY OF FRUITS OF FOUR VARIETIES OF Hancornia speciosa GOMES (APOCYNACEAE)

Hancornia speciosa Gomes, known as mangaba or mangabeira, is a plant species of the family Apocynaceae with botanical varieties occurring in several regions of Brazil. The species is of considerable ecological and economic importance in the food, timber, latex and medicinal industries. Four different varieties of H. speciosa occur in Cerrado. Anatomical characteristics contribute to the taxonomic identification of plants, including those of isolated organs such as leaves, roots, stems, fruits and seeds. Thus, the present work investigated the anatomical characteristics and the location of the main classes of secondary metabolites of the fruits of H. speciosa var. pubescens, H. speciosa var. gardneri, H. speciosa var. speciosa and H. speciosa var. cuyabensis to assist in distinguishing the varieties. Fruits were collected, preserved and fixed following usual methods for anatomical and histochemical analyses. All varieties under study showed similarities in anatomical characteristics and in the distribution of metabolites in the fruits, with the exception of the anatomy of the exocarp, where the occurrence of trichomes differed among the varieties of H. speciosa.