Foliar architecture and anatomy of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bernardia</Emphasis> and other genera of Acalyphoideae (Euphorbiaceae)

A comparative study of leaf architecture and anatomy of 42 species of Bernardia and other genera related of Acalyphoideae was undertaken to identify characters that support infrageneric and specific delimitation. Thirty variable foliar architectural and anatomical characters were studied. Some characters are consistent (e.g., venation pattern, secondary and tertiary vein arrangement, presence or absence of agrophic veins, type of areoles, bundle sheath cell type, presence or absence of fibers in the mesophyll, trichome type, stomata location, and type of crystals), and characterize genera. In addition, foliar character distribution within Bernardia supports the most recent infrageneric classification.