Vessel elements in Monocotyledons present morphological differences according to the organ where they occur. Usually such diff erences have been explained from an evolutionary perspective, with few data on how the vessel elements could be infl uenced by the diff erent functions of organs and the growth habits of the plants. To address this question, three vegetative organs of palms of the same genus, Syagrus, growing in similar environments, but with different habits, were analyzed. Accordingly, we aimed to detect whether the vessel elements would present similar features in all species or whether the vessel elements would change according to their different habits. We found that the width and type of perforation plates varied in the same way among all... |