View article

Species of the ‘bana’ vegetation in the Amazonas region of equatorial South America have scleromorphic leaves. This leaf type, which characterizes the vegetation of Mediterranean climates, among others, has apparently evolved in this community in response to the oligotrophic soils and widely fluctuating water table.

Anatomically, the leaves have several features commonly found in xeromorphic plants, including greater leaf and cuticle thickness, pubescent leaves and sunken stomata, and a high incidence of sclerenchyma.

Concentrations of K and P decrease with leaf age, while N remains nearly constant and Ca increases. Concentrations of N and P are lower than in other sclerophyllous species, but the amount of these nutrients recovered before leaf shedding are similar. The correlation between P and N as expressed per unit dry weight is high (r=0.87; p<0.01) as is the relation between …