This paper is an investigation into how the anatomy changes within a leaflet and between the leaflets of a single leaf blade of Butia. Four species of Butia were studied: Butia paraguayensis, B. eriospatha, B. yatay and B. odorata. Changes in the anatomical characters are important because some have been used in keys to help separate the species. Recently, anatomical mid-rib characters were used in a key to separate species of Butia. We found that characters, such as abaxially projected or rounded mid-rib fibrous ring or number and arrangement of accessory bundles, do change within a single leaflet or between the leaflets of a single leaf blade. Growing conditions and leaf developmental maturity are also important factors that influence leaflet anatomy and may cause one to be misled in an identification key based on anatomical characters. We re-emphasize the importance of always sampling from the same part of the leaf, to have a broader sampling, be attentive to the environmental condition and health of the plant from which you are sampling and to consider population differences.

中文翻译：

---

单个小叶内和四种Butia（Arecaceae，Arecoideae）物种小叶之间的叶子解剖结构多样性

这篇论文是对 Butia 的单个叶片的小叶内和小叶之间的解剖结构如何变化的调查。研究了四种 Butia：Butia paraguayensis、B. eriospatha、B. yatay 和 B. odorata。解剖特征的变化很重要，因为其中一些已被用于帮助区分物种的关键。最近，解剖中肋骨特征被用于区分 Butia 物种的关键。我们发现诸如背面突出或圆形的中肋纤维环或副束的数量和排列等特征在单个小叶内或单个叶片的小叶之间确实发生变化。生长条件和叶片发育成熟度也是影响小叶解剖结构的重要因素，并可能导致人们在基于解剖特征的识别关键上被误导。