Vitex Megapotamica (tarumã) is a deciduous tree occurring in Brazil from Minas Gerais to Rio Grande do Sul States. In order to characterize fruit and seed morphology and morpho-anatomy of seedlings, fruits of this species were collected and seeds were germinated in the laboratory. Seedlings were collected from root protrusion to development of the first pair of eophylls. The fruits were measured and weighed and the number of seeds per fruit counted. Fruit and seed morphology were described and illustrated, as well as morphoanatomy of the seedling. The fruit is a 4-locular drupe containing only one or two seeds with a thin layer of endosperm and an axial, foliate embryo. The woody endocarp seems to restrict germination in this species. The seedling has epigeal, phanerocotylar development; elliptical paracotyledons with entire margins, and opposite, simple, elliptical eophylls with serrate margins, and simple multicelullar trichomes. Paracotyledons and eophylls have heterogeneous dorsiventral mesophyll, collateral bundle, and anomocytic stomata. The root is polyarc, with parenchymatous cortex; the hypocotyl has glandular and non-glandular trichomes, a distinct collet, and within 20 days it starts secondary growth. Many characteristics of seedlings in V. megapotamica are related to the fact that it is a heliophyte.
fruit; plant anatomy; plant morphology; seed; seedling
