SALT-GLANDS IN FLOWERING CULMS OF ERIOCHLOA SPECIES (POACEAE)

Salt glands were found in Eriochloa (Paniceae-Poaceae): E. montevidensis, E. pseudoacrotricha and E. punctata. They occur on the culms, rachises and secondary ramifications of the inflorescence. The glands are bicellular structures with endodermal tissue at the base. They consist of a basal cell and an apical cell, which is a collecting chamber with a large pore at the top. It is proposed to conserve the term salt gland to designate excretory structures associated with endodermal collecting tissue. The elements present in the glands (detected by the use of X-ray micro-analysis) are: Na, Mg, P, S, Cl, K with an increase of the elements from the endodermal tissue to the cap cell. Because of energy needed to transport and excrete salts, salt glands are situated at the base of the inflorescence, which is the zone of maximal development of Kranz structure. It is inferred that Eriochloa is a facultative halophytic genus, derived recently from a halophytic ancestor.