STRUCTURAL DIVERSITY IN Eugenia L. (Myrtaceae)

No presente estudo \ue9 investigada a anatomia da madeira de 9 esp\ue9cies sul-rio-grandenses de Eugenia (Myrtaceae), com vistas ao reconhecimento de caracteres \ufateis \ue0 identifica\ue7\ue3o do g\ueanero e esp\ue9cies. Os resultados demonstram uma grande homogeneidade estrutural, fruto do elevado n\ufamero de caracteres anat\uf4micos compartilhados. Nenhuma caracter\uedstica ocorre exclusivamente no grupo taxon\uf4mico em quest\ue3o. \uc9 confirmado o valor do arranjo do par\ueanquima axial para a separa\ue7\ue3o de esp\ue9cies, bem como da frequ\ueancia de poros e caracter\uedsticas de raios. N\ue3o \ue9 poss\uedvel contestar, com base na anatomia da madeira, a inclus\ue3o de Hexachlamys em Eugenia, como sugerido por Landrum e Kawasaki (1997).The wood anatomy of nine species of Eugenia (Myrtaceae) native in Rio Grande do Sul State (Brazil) is presently studied in order to identify diagnostic characters useful to identify genus and species. A great structural homogeneity was observed, reflecting the high number of shared anatomical features. None characteristic is exclusive to this taxonomic group. The value of axial parenchyma arrangement to species segregation is confirmed, as well as the frequency of pores and characteristics of rays. It is not possible to disprove, based on wood anatomy, the inclusion of Hexachlamys in Eugenia, as suggested by Landrum and Kawasaki (1997)