Identificación de Bignoniaceae de la Ciudad de Mérida (Venezuela) a través de la Anatomía de la madera

Abstract

This paper deals with the wood anatomy of seven species from Handroanthus, Spathodea, Tabebuia and Tecoma genus, in Bignoniaceae growing in the city of Merida (Merida state, Venezuela). Description was made according to IAWA (1989). Based on the characteristics of the wood, the species are included in two groups, the first, conformed by species with stratification of one o more elements (Handroanthus guayacan, H. ochraceus, Tabebuia insignis, T. rosea, Tecoma stans), and the second, without stratification (Spathodea campanulata and Tabebuia aurea). Species included in first group can be separated according the following features: vessel arrangement, rays cellular composition, crystals and fibre wall thickness. In the second group, rays width is a good feature for separation. A dichotomous key is included for identification of six species studied (Handroanthus guayacan, H. ochraceus, Tabebuia insignis, T. rosea, Tecoma stans Spathodea campanulata).