The presence of glandular appendages in the anthers is a rare condition in angiosperms. In Leguminosae it occurs in species of the Mimosoid clade and in earlybranching clades of papilionoids such as Dipterygeae. In Dipterygeae such appendages surprisingly exhibit a secretory cavity instead of secretory emergences as is the case for the Mimosoid clade. Thus, the objective of this study was to elucidate the function of anther glands in Dipteryx alata and Pterodon pubescens, species in the Dipterygeae clade that exhibit a pollen release mechanism that is intermediate between the explosive and valvular types.• Flower buds and flowers were processed for surface, anatomical, histochemical and ultrastructural analyses.• Anther glands consist of a cavity secreting sticky substances (oleoresins and polysaccharides) that play a key role during the flower's lifespan by aggregating pollen grains and attaching them to the floral visitor's body. Other floral features that are important for understanding the pollen release mechanism that is intermediate between the valvular and the explosive types are: (i) keel petals intertwined with tector trichomes; (ii) glandular appendages in the abaxial and lateral sepals and in petals composed of secretory ducts; and (iii) a continuous secretion process of the anther glands followed by an asynchronous dehiscence of anthers.• The well-adapted papilionoid flag blossom with anther glands and keel petals intertwined with trichomes provided the foundation for a successful canalisation toward a pollen release mechanism intermediate between the explosive and valvular types inside early-branching papilionoids.
Prosopis L. is particularly rich and important in the Chaco region where forest vegetation currently persists as fragments. Its species are very important for the conservation and management of Chaco vegetation, and understanding their phenology and reproductive biology is essential. Here, we studied the phenology and pollination biology of P. rubriflora Hassl. in the Brazilian Chaco compared to other species of the genus. Differing from other Prosopis species, P. rubriflora is evergreen, and most phenophases are nonseasonal and bimodal (except fruiting), with a continuous pattern. Prosopis rubriflora is andromonoecious, but only weakly, since plants produce relatively few staminate flowers. Flowers showed three floral stylar phenotypes: short, medium and long style. Short-style flowers are functionally staminate because the stigma is nonreceptive. To compensate for the small size of P. rubriflora red brush flowers, attraction is compressed and transferred to the spike, which functions as a collective pollination unit. This compression may favour self-and intraplant pollination, which may reduce and/or prevent the occurrence of protogyny and partial, i.e. temporal, herkogamy in hermaphrodite flowers. Prosopis rubriflora has generalist pollination, but differs from the other Prosopis species because it is also pollinated by hummingbird, most likely due to its ''ornithophilous'' characteristics. This species is the first of the genus recorded as pollinated by hummingbirds. Although the exotic bee Apis mellifera L. presents high frequency of visit, this bee is not effective pollinator, due to its foraging style that does not favour cross-pollen flow. Native insects and hummingbird species are main pollinators because they present trapline foraging.
The genus Mucuna comprises approximately 105 tropical and sub-tropical species, with the highest diversity occurring in the Paleotropics. In the Neotropics, 13 new species have been described recently and a number of regional floras have been published. A recent floristic treatment for Colombia has summarized the Mucuna species found in the Neotropics, but since then many new species and new geographical records have been published. A complete taxonomic treatment of all neotropical species and an identification key to all neotropical taxa is currently lacking. The aim of this study is to present a complete taxonomic account of the species of Mucuna occurring in the Neotropics. Descriptions of 25 taxa (24 species and one variety) are included in the treatment, including type specimen details, synonymy, illustrations, distribution maps, and preliminary conservation assessments for each species, together with a species identification key.
Apresentamos o estudo taxonômico de Casearia Jacq. (Salicaceae) no Brasil. Foram reconhecidas48 espécies do gênero, sendo três novas para ciência (Casearia espiritosantensis R. Marquete& Mansano, Casearia souzae R. Marquete & Mansano e Casearia murceana R. Marquete & Mansano) euma espécie foi revalidada (C. cotticensis Uittien). Apresentamos a chave para identificação dos táxons,descrições das espécies, ilustrações, distribuição geográfica e observações sobre aspectos ecológicos. Foifeita a lectotipificação dos seguintes nomes C. spinosa Willd. var. tafallana Eichler (C. aculeata), C. incanaBertero ex Spreng. (C. arborea), C. maculata Pilg. (C. fasciculata), Antigona serrata Vell. (C. lasiophylla),C. tarapotina Pilg. (C. mariquitensis), C. selloana, e C. lindeniana Urb. (C. sylvestris), C. celastroidesKlotsch (C. zizyphoides); designou-se neótipo para Samyda affinis Spreng. (C. aculeata) e epítipo paraCasearia luetzelburgii Sleumer. Foram encontradas como endêmicas do Brasil, 21 espécies, sendo queC. atharinensis, até o momento, do estado de Santa Catarina e C. espiritosantensis e Casearia souzae sãodo estado do Espírito Santo e Rio de Janeiro. A análise do estado de conservação das espécies, de acordocom os critérios e categorias propostas pela IUCN, apontou cinco espécies como criticamente em perigo(CR), sete em perigo (EM), e quatro vulneráveis (VU).
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