Regrowth via production of epicormic shoots is an important strategy for many woody plants after environmental disturbances such as fire, drought, and herbivory. Populations spreading across a broad latitudinal gradient offer opportunities to investigate if essential traits vary with heterogenous environmental conditions, such as in savanna ecosystems. This information can help us predict plant responses to climate change. Here, we evaluated if epicormic bud protection traits varied among populations of three focal savanna species (Miconia albicans, Solanum lycocarpum, and Zeyheria montana) that have a wide distribution and grow under variable climatic conditions. We randomly sampled 225 individuals over five spatially independent sites (7°, 10°, 15°, 18°, and 24° S) in Brazil, totaling 15 individuals per species per area. We analyzed anatomical transverse sections of five buds per species per area to assess the relative area occupied by crystal and phenolic idioblasts, the thickness of the trichome boundary layer, and to test if these traits were associated with climatic conditions. The buds were protected by cataphylls and composed of a variable number of undeveloped leaves enveloping the shoot apex. For M. albicans, we found an association between maximum temperature and both phenolic idioblasts and trichome boundary layer, but no association with crystal idioblasts. In S. lycocarpum, only the trichome boundary layer was associated with maximum temperature plus high radiation. Z. montana showed no variation. Combination of two or more traits can lead to the development of adaptative strategies to different climatic conditions. We present for the first time an analysis of epicormic bud traits in plant populations occurring in an extensive latitudinal gradient and shed light on how maximum temperature is associated with these traits, contributing to a better understanding of plant resprouting capabilities in widespread savanna plant species.

对于许多木本植物而言，在遭受火，干旱和草食等环境干扰之后，通过生产表皮芽而再生是一种重要的策略。分布在宽纬度梯度上的种群提供了研究基本特征是否随异质环境条件（例如热带稀树草原生态系统）变化的机会。这些信息可以帮助我们预测植物对气候变化的反应。在这里，我们评估了三种主要热带稀树草原物种（Miconia albicans，Solanum lycocarpum和Zeyheria montana）的种群之间的表皮芽保护性状是否不同）分布广泛，并在气候条件变化的情况下生长。我们在巴西的五个空间独立地点（南纬7°，10°，15°，18°和24°）随机抽取了225个个体，每个物种每个区域总共15个个体。我们分析了每个区域每物种五个芽的解剖横截面，以评估晶体和酚类成纤维细胞所占据的相对面积，毛状体边界层的厚度，并测试这些特征是否与气候条件相关。芽受到叶绿素的保护，并由围绕茎尖的许多未发育的叶子组成。对于白色念珠菌，我们发现最高温度与酚类成纤维细胞和毛状体边界层之间有关联，但与晶体成纤维细胞没有关联。在S. lycocarpum，只有毛状体边界层与最高温度和高辐射相关。Z. montana无变化。两个或多个特征的组合可以导致针对不同气候条件的适应策略的发展。我们首次提出了在广泛的纬度梯度中发生的植物种群中表皮芽性状的分析，并揭示了最高温度与这些性状如何相关，从而有助于更好地理解稀树草原植物物种中植物的发芽能力。