Maté (Ilex paraguariensis A. St.-Hil.) is a native plant from southern Brazil and a raw material for beverages. To research on population variability of the species, we compared leaf morphology of three populations from Mato Grosso do Sul (MS), Paraná (PR) and Santa Catarina (SC) States. Lamina measurements included area (A), perimeter (P), length (l), maximum width (w), distance between maximum width and lamina base (dw), base angle (BÂ), biomass (m), and the indexes: relative distance of maximum width (dw/l), ratio length/width (l/w), relative perimeter (RP= P / (l + w), rectangular area index (RAI = A / (l x w)) and leaf mass/area (m/A). We verified differences among populations on A (MS<PR=SC), l (MS<PR=SC), w (MS<PR=SC), RAI (MS=PR>SC) and m/A (MS>PR, MS=SC, PR=SC). The lowest RAI of SC could be explained, at least partially, by a positive correlation between RAI and BÂ (r= 0.6043, p<0.01).
Ilex paraguariensis; Aquifoliaceae; plant morphology; leaf morphology; population variability; rectangular area index
