| The aim of this study was to deepen the knowledge of the cladodes anatomy of nine species of Opuntia that grow in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Fresh and herbarium samples were prepared according to usual methods for light microscope. Histochemical techniques were performed to identify starch, mucilage and oxalate salts. The main traits found were: epidermis smooth and uniseriate, covered by a thin cuticle and epicuticular waxes; large (range 36-57 gm length) stomata in low density (range 21-27/ mm²), located at level respect to the rest of epidermal cells with a deep substomatal chamber; a multiseriate hypodermis with one crystal layer; the cortex with external chlorenchyma and internal hydrenchyma. The eustele presents different size of... |
