WOOD STRUCTURE OF PROSOPIS ALPATACO AND P. ARGENTINA GROWING UNDER DIFFERENT EDAPHIC CONDITIONS

VILLAGRA, P.; FIDEL A. ROIG

IAWA JOURNAL

INT ASSOC WOOD ANATOMISTS

Año: 1997 p. 37 - 51

0928-1541

Prosopis alpataco Phil. and P. argentina Burk. are shrubs growing underdifferent ecological conditions within the Monte Desert, Argentina. Bothspecies have similar wood structure: semi-ring-porosity, vessels with abimodal diameter distribution, short vessel elements, paratrachealconfluent axial parenchyma, libriform fibres and homocellular rays.Prosopis alpataco has wider vessels and a greater proportion of solitaryvessels than P. argentina which has narrower vessels, mainly in clusters,and a larger number of vessels per mm2. The wood structure of P.argentina suggests a safer, but less efficient, water-conducting systemthan that of P. alpataco. This could be related to P. argentina´s toleranceto high water stress, as this species occurs mostly in sand dunes. InsteadP. alpataco is a phreatophyte, getting a regular water supply.