Brazilian Journal of Botany
versión impresa ISSN 0100-8404
VIEIRA, Fábio de Almeida; APPOLINARIO, Vivette; FAJARDO, Cristiane Gouvêa y CARVALHO, Dulcinéia de. Reproductive biology of Protium spruceanum (Burseraceae), a dominant dioecious tree in vegetation corridors in Southeastern Brazil. Rev. bras. Bot. [online]. 2010, vol.33, n.4, pp. 711-715. ISSN 0100-8404. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0100-84042010000400018.
We investigated the reproductive biology of Protium spruceanum (Benth.) Engler in vegetation corridors of secondary Atlantic forest in Lavras, southern Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The reproductive phenology was investigated fortnightly over a one year period. Floral biology studies involved pollen viability analysis, nectar production, stigmatic receptivity, pollen tube growth, visiting insect species and visit rates. The small, pale yellowish flowers (0.3-0.4 cm diameter) are functionally unisexual and organized in dense inflorescences (ca. 45 flowers). P. spruceanum presented annual flowering between September and November. Staminate flowers supplied a high percentage of viable pollen (90.6%) and relatively abundant nectar (x = 4.5 μL). Pistillate flowers produced only nectar to flower visitors (x = 4.0 μL). The effective pollinators were Apis mellifera and Trigona sp. (Hymenoptera, Apidae). Pollen tubes of cross-pollinated flowers were observed entering the ovaries 48 h after pollination. The fruiting season is from October to March, with a peak in November, coinciding with the rainfall peak. Ecological implications of these findings, and alternative arguments to explain the high genetic diversity at regional landscape are discussed.
Palabras llave : dioecy; floral visitors; flowering; fruiting; secondary forest.