Arquitectura foliar y anatomía epidérmica de las especies mexicanas del género Gouania (Rhamnaceae)

The leaves of ten species of the genus Gouania (Rhamnaceae) cited for Mexico were studied with the goal of characterizing the foliar morphological and anatomical aspects that could allow the differentiation of taxa, which in the particular case of this genus is based on the morphology of the fruits, which are not always found in the field and in several cases the herbarium specimens lack these. The complete leaves were cleared and colored with safranin and methylene blue and photographed, describing and illustrating the second, third and fourth category venation patterns The number of secondary veins in the leaf blade, the presence or absence of glands in the margins or trichomes in the lamina and the types of stomata, were characters that made possible the differentiation of the studied species. The importance of foliar architecture in the taxonomic recognition of specimens from vegetative characters was evidenced.