Ann. Bot. Fennici 44: 79–132 ISSN 0003-3847 Helsinki 28 March 2007 © Finnish Zoological and Botanical Publishing Board 2007 Anatomical structure of barks in Neotropical genera of Annonaceae Leo Junikka1 & Jifke Koek-Noorman2 1) Finnish Museum of Natural History, Botanical Museum, P.O. Box 7, FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland (present address: Botanic Garden, P.O. Box 44, FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland) (e-mail:
[email protected]) 2) National Herbarium of the Netherlands, P.O. Box 80102, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands (e-mail:
[email protected]) Received 1 Oct. 2004, revised version received 23 Aug. 2006, accepted 21 Jan. 2005 Junikka, L. & Koek-Noorman, J. 2007: Anatomical structure of barks in Neotropical genera of Annonaceae. — Ann. Bot. Fennici 44 (Supplement A): 79–132. The bark anatomy of 32 Neotropical genera of Annonaceae was studied. A family description based on Neotropical genera and a discussion of individual bark compo- nents are presented. Selected character states at the family and genus levels are sur- veyed for identification purposes. This is followed by a discussion on the taxonomical and phylogenetic relevance of bark characters according to a phylogram in preparation based on molecular characters. Although the value of many bark anatomical characters turned out to be insignificant in systematic studies of the family, some features lend support to recent phylogenetic results based on morphological and molecular data sets. The taxonomically most informative features of the bark anatomy are sclerification of phellem cells, shape of fibre groups and occurrence of crystals in bark components. Key words: anatomy, Annonaceae, bark, periderm, phloem, phylogeny, rhytidome, taxonomy Introduction collections and the development of some novel methods a multidisciplinary programme on Anno- Woody members of the Annonaceae are one of naceae was embarked on in 1983 at the Univer- the most species-rich components in the tropi- sity of Utrecht.