Most Neotropical Malpighiaceae species are characterized by having zygomorphic flowers and oil glands in the sepals called elaiophores; these floral characteristics are associated with a particular pollination syndrome through oil-collecting bees. This work proposes a study about the structural characteristics of elaiophores in 18 species of Malpighiaceae present in Argentina. The main objectives are to describe the morphology and anatomy of the elaiophores, to detect variation in the number of glands, to compare similarities or differences in elaiophores of species belonging to different lineages, and to know about the potential pollinators and their association with the structural traits of the elaiophores. The morphology and the anatomy were studied using traditional methods of scanning electron and bright-field microscopes. Field trips were carried out to capture oil-collecting bee species on flowers, in different natural populations. Different measurements were taken in the flowers, elaiophores, and oil-collecting bees and were statistically analyzed. Although elaiophores showed a common pattern, some particularities in number, morphology, and anatomy were detected; few of these seem to be restricted to some groups of species phylogenetically related. As regards pollinators, a positive tendency was observed between the size of the flowers, elaiophores, and oil-collecting bees. However, the thickness of the cuticle presented a negative association with the size of the elaiophore and consequently with the floral diameter, which could be presumably related to the foraging behavior and/or the structure of oil-collecting apparatus of the bee species.

大多数新热带锦葵科物种的特征是在萼片上有左右对称的花和油腺，称为毛蕊花；这些花卉特征与通过采油蜜蜂进行的特定授粉综合症有关。这项工作提出了一项关于阿根廷存在的 18 种锦葵科植物中毛蕊花的结构特征的研究。主要目的是描述毛囊的形态和解剖结构，检测腺体数量的变化，比较属于不同谱系的物种毛囊的相似性或差异，并了解潜在的传粉者及其与结构的关联。毛囊的特征。使用传统的扫描电子和明场显微镜方法研究形态和解剖结构。进行了实地考察，以在不同的自然种群中捕捉花朵上的采油蜜蜂物种。对花朵、毛蕊花和采油蜂进行了不同的测量，并进行了统计分析。虽然毛孔呈现出共同的模式，但在数量、形态和解剖结构上都发现了一些特殊性；其中很少有似乎仅限于某些系统发育相关的物种群。至于传粉媒介，在花的大小、毛蕊花和采油蜂之间观察到了积极的趋势。然而，角质层的厚度与毛孔的大小呈负相关，因此与花的直径呈负相关，这可能与蜜蜂的觅食行为和/或采油装置的结构有关。