Abstract
Abstract Elaeis guineensis Jacq. (Arecaceae), the oil palm tree, serves as a phorophyte for many different groups of organisms, someof whichhelp decompose organic matter comingfromthe organs of the tree itself or fromremainsof other plants retained in leaf sheaths. To study the myxobiota of E. guineensis, we examined living and dead trunks, leaves, bracts and inflorescences in the Gurjaú Ecological Reserve, in the township of Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Pernambuco, Brazil. Incidence and species abundance were determined in three Atlantic forest fragments. The reported species are listed herein, followed the known distribution of each species in Brazil, and which of them occur on palm trees. All of the subclasses and five orders were recorded and 22 species were added to the list of myxomycetes associated with oil palm trees in Brazil. The highest incidence value was recorded on dead leaves. Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa (O. F. Müll.) T. Macbr., Arcyria cinerea (Bull.)Pers. and Physarum compressum Alb.& Schwein. werethe most commonspecies, while Hemitrichia serpula (Scop.) Rostaf. ex Lister showed the highest levels of abundance and incidence, thus confirming its preference for the substrates provided by palm trees.
Highlights
The oil palm tree (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) arrived in Brazil, where it spread rapidly and is popularly known as dendezeiro, with the African slaves during the colonial period
The oil palm tree serves as a phorophyte for several different groups of living organisms, some of which, including myxomycetes, help decompose organic matter coming from organs of the tree itself or from remains of other plants that are retained by leaf sheaths that remains attached to the trunk after senescence
The incidence percentage per individual and plant organ serving as a substrate was calculated; abundance was evaluated for each species according to the criteria of Novozhilov et al (2001), which is based on the relationship between the number of specimens for a given taxon and the total number of records of myxomycetes for the substrate analyzed
Summary
The oil palm tree (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) arrived in Brazil, where it spread rapidly and is popularly known as dendezeiro, with the African slaves during the colonial period. In this study it was occasionally found on oil palm trees (Tab. 2) of the Café Forest, and the specimens analyzed, obtained on dead leaves and living trunks (Tab. 1), presented the typical characteristics of this species.
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