Species Of Melastomataceae Research Articles

Tibouchina xochiatencana (Melastomataceae), una nueva especie de la Sierra Madre del Sur de Guerrero, México

Tibouchina xochiatencana, a new species of Melastomataceae collected near Xochiatenco, municipality of Malinaltepec, in the Sierra Madre del Sur of Guerrero, is described and illustrated. This species is part of an informal group of Mexican species with large, strongly dimorphic stamens. Its distant relatives are Tibouchina araneicalyx and T. durangensis, both of which have bractlets and calyx lobes that are adaxially glabrous, and short, appressed hypanthial trichomes.

PATRONES DE RIQUEZA ESPECÍFICA DE LAS FAMILIAS MELASTOMATACEAE Y RUBIACEAE EN LA CORDILLERA ORIENTAL, COLOMBIA, NORTE DE LOS ANDES Y CONSIDERACIONES PARA LA CONSERVACIÓN

La revista Colombia Forestal publica manuscritos originales en temáticas del campo forestal y diversos aspectos de los recursos naturales y del medio ambiente, los cuales se discriminan en las categorías de artículo de investigación, de revisión, de reflexión y notas técnicas de acuerdo con lo estipulado por COLCIENCIAS para las publicaciones científicas. De acuerdo a la clasificación de áreas científicas de la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económico (OCDE), la revista Colombia Forestal pertenece al gran área de Ciencias Agrícolas(4), área de Agricultura, Silvicultura y Pesca(4A) y a la disciplina Forestal (4A02).

Reproductive biology and species geographical distribution in the Melastomataceae: a survey based on New World taxa

Apomictic plants are less dependent on pollinator services and able to occupy more diverse habitats than sexual species. However, such assumptions are based on temperate species, and comparable evaluation for species-rich Neotropical taxa is lacking. In this context, the Melastomataceae is a predominantly Neotropical angiosperm family with many apomictic species, which is common in the Campos Rupestres, endemism-rich vegetation on rocky outcrops in central Brazil. In this study, the breeding system of some Campo Rupestre Melastomataceae was evaluated, and breeding system studies for New World species were surveyed to test the hypothesis that apomixis is associated with wide distributions, whilst sexual species have more restricted areas. The breeding systems of 20 Campo Rupestre Melastomataceae were studied using hand pollinations and pollen-tube growth analysis. In addition, breeding system information was compiled for 124 New World species of Melastomataceae with either wide (>1000 km) or restricted distributions. Most (80 %) of the Campo Rupestre species studied were self-compatible. Self-incompatibility in Microlicia viminalis was associated with pollen-tube arrest in the style, as described for other Melastomataceae, but most self-incompatible species analysed showed pollen-tube growth to the ovary irrespective of pollination treatment. Apomictic species showed lower pollen viability and were less frequent among the Campo Rupestre plants. Among the New World species compiled, 43 were apomictic and 77 sexual (24 self-incompatible and 53 self-compatible). Most apomictic (86 %) and self-incompatible species (71 %) presented wide distributions, whilst restricted distributions predominate only among the self-compatible ones (53 %). Self-compatibility and dependence on biotic pollination were characteristic of Campo Rupestre and narrowly distributed New World Melastomataceae species, whilst apomictics are widely distributed. This is, to a certain extent, similar to the geographical parthenogenesis pattern of temperate apomictics.

Novos registros para a família Melastomataceae nos Estados do Paraná e Santa Catarina, Brasil

Neste trabalho são registradas uma nova ocorrência de gênero Henriettea DC. para Santa Catarina e quatro novas ocorrências de espécies de Melastomataceae para esse Estado: Henriettea glabra (Vell.) Penneys, Michelangeli, Judd & Almeda, Leandra tetraquetra (Cham.) Cogn., Miconia racemifera (DC.) Triana e Miconia paniculata (DC.) Naudin. Miconia paniculata e Salpinga margaritacea (Naudin) Triana são também registradas pela primeira vez para o Estado do Paraná, e confirma-se a ocorrência da última no Estado de Santa Catarina, mencionada anteriormente de forma duvidosa, com base em uma coleta antiga e sem flores. Todas essas espécies tiveram seus limites de distribuição ampliados no sentido sul, alcançando os Estados do Paraná e Santa Catarina. São fornecidas descrições, ilustrações e comentários taxonômicos para as novas ocorrências.

A new species of Miconia (Melastomataceae, Miconieae) from the Ecuador-Peru border

Miconia machinazana C.Ulloa & D.A. Neill, sp. nov.,a new species of Melastomataceae from the Ecuador-Peru border is described and illustrated. It is characterized by the narrow, decussate leaves, dense reddish brown indument, small flowers in short panicles, pale yellow petals, and anthers opening by two large terminal pores.

Poikilogyne cordifolia (Cogn.) Mansf., a newly recorded genus and species of Melastomataceae for Australia

Poikilogyne cordifolia (Cogn.) Mansf., a newly recorded genus and species of Melastomataceae for Australia

Calycogonium pseudofloribundum, a new species ofMelastomataceae, Miconieae, from eastern Cuba

Abstract Becquer E. R.: Calycogonium pseudofloribundum, a new species of Melastomataceae, Miconieae, from eastern Cuba [Novitiae florae cubensis 37], — Willdenowia 41: 289–294. December 2011. — Online ISSN 1868-6397; © 2011 BGBM Berlin-Dahlem. Stable URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3372/wi.41.41210 Calycogonium pseudofloribundum of the Melastomataceae tribe Miconieae, from eastern Cuba, a species new to science, is described and illustrated. C. pseudofloribundum is closely related to C. floribundum, with which it has been confused for a long time. It can be distinguished from the latter species by leaf features (the ovate to lanceolate leaves have an acute to apiculate apex, the blade is flat to slightly revolute, the margin usually obscurely to minutely dentate towards the apex, the adaxial surface is flat and usually opaque to whitish in dry material by presence of wax layers; they have two, rarely one, pair of secondary veins, the second pair originating 2–9 mm above the base), the external calyx teeth being...

Análise comparativa da anatomia foliar de Melastomataceae em ambiente de vereda e cerrado sensu stricto

Este trabalho descreve a anatomia das lâminas foliares de três espécies de Melastomataceae, Lavoisiera bergii Cogn., Macairea radula (Bonpl.) DC. e Trembleya parviflora (D. Don) Cogn. que estão colonizando a zona alagável e aberta de fundo de vereda e de M. radula e T. parviflora que ocorrem no cerrado sensu stricto da Estação Ecológica de Águas Emendadas, Planaltina/DF. Os dados estruturais mostrados pelas três espécies indicam escleromorfia com características particulares a cada uma delas, como projeções nas células epidérmicas de L. bergii, diferentes tipos e localização de emergências formadas por esclereídes em L. bergii e M. radula, e evaginações na epiderme de T. parviflora. A caracterização anatômica das folhas de M. radula e T. parviflora não difere entre os ambientes. No entanto, as lâminas foliares dos indivíduos encontrados na vereda apresentaram plasticidade com valores significativamente (P< 0,05) maiores para espessura do mesofilo e do parênquima para massa foliar e massa foliar específica em relação aos indivíduos do cerrado sensu stricto. Esta relação é inversa para valores de área foliar específica. A capacidade de apresentar plasticidade estrutural, juntamente com a escleromorfia, pode ter sido relevante para o comportamento invasivo destas espécies na zona de fundo da vereda como destacado na discussão. Além deste ponto, o texto também apresenta uma breve discussão sobre outros aspectos relacionados à importância de estruturas anatômicas na taxonomia e ecologia destas espécies.

Miconia walterjuddii (Miconieae: Melastomataceae), a new species from Cuba

Miconia walterjuddii, a new species of Melastomataceae from the mountains in northeast Cuba, is described. This species can be easily assigned to Miconia section Chaenopleura due to its short anthers that open by two longitudinal slits. Sequence data from nrITS confirm this placement. This new species is characterized by its inconspicuous lepidote indumentum of minute adpressed scales ca. 0.05 mm long; small flowers in dichasia, forming a compact, many-flowered, rounded to subcorymbose cymes, with purple to fuchsia colored petals.

Evolution of physiological dormancy multiple times in Melastomataceae from Neotropical montane vegetation

AbstractWe investigated seed dormancy among species of Melastomataceae from Neotropical montane vegetation of Brazil. Four out of 50 studied species had dormant seeds:Miconia corallina(Miconieae), Tibouchina cardinalis(Melastomeae), Comolia sertularia(Melastomeae) andChaetostoma armatum(Microlicieae). For these four species, germinability of seeds collected in different years was always < 10% and the percentages of embryoless seeds and non-viable embryos were both insufficient to explain low or null germinability. This is the first unequivocal report of seed dormancy in tropical Melastomataceae. The production of seeds with permeable seed coats and fully developed, differentiated embryos indicates the occurrence of physiological dormancy. The reconstructed phylogenetic tree of the 50 species suggests that physiological dormancy evolved multiple times during the evolutionary history of Melastomataceae in this vegetation. Physiological dormancy evolved in species and populations associated with xeric microhabitats, where seeds are dispersed in unfavourable conditions for establishment. Therefore, drought-induced mortality may have been a strong selective pressure favouring the evolution of physiological dormancy in Melastomataceae. We argue that dormancy may have been independently selected in other lineages of Cerrado plants colonizing xeric microhabitats and dispersing seeds at the end of the rainy season. The contributions of our data to the understanding of seed dormancy in tropical montane vegetation are discussed.

Frugivoria e potencial dispersão de sementes pelo marsupial Gracilinanus agilis (Didelphidae: Didelphimorphia) em áreas de Cerrado no Brasil central

No presente estudo, investigamos o consumo de frutos e viabilidade de sementes consumidas pelo marsupial Gracilinanus agilis (Burmeister, 1854) em quatro áreas de cerradão do Brasil central. Análises fecais indicaram que este mamífero se alimenta de plantas pioneiras da família Melastomataceae (Miconia albicans (Sw.) Triana, M. cuspidata Naudin, M. ferruginata DC., M. pepericarpa DC., M. pohliana Cogn. e Ossaea congestiflora (Naudin) Cogn.), Solanaceae (uma espécie não identificada) e Viscaceae (Phoradendron perrottetii (DC.) Eichler, erva-de-passarinho). Detectamos o maior índice de consumo de frutos já registrado para o gênero Gracilinanus, com cerca de 45% das fezes contendo sementes e 86% contendo itens derivados de frutos (N=422). Com exceção de O. congestiflora, o restante das sementes das espécies testadas não sofreram efeitos negativos na germinabilidade ao passarem pelo trato digestório deste marsupial. A avaliação da variação intraspecífica no número de sementes encontradas nas fezes indicou que fêmeas de G. agilis defecam maior quantidade de sementes de Miconia (média±EP = 21,7±3,8) em comparação com os machos (14,4±3,0) (F=26,32; P<0,0001). O fator estação do ano também foi significativo (F=452,22; P<0,0001) e existiu interação entre sexo e estação do ano (F=30,10; P<0,0001). Tanto fêmeas como machos aumentaram o consumo de frutos com sementes na época seca, contudo fêmeas apresentaram mais sementes nas fezes do que machos na estação chuvosa. Nessa estação, observamos um maior número de sementes de espécies de Miconia defecadas por fêmeas reprodutivas (24,7±6,6) em relação a fêmeas não reprodutivas (12,9±2,8) (P=0,031). Nossos dados indicaram que G. agilis selecionou positivamente espécies da família Melastomataceae, sugerindo um papel relevante dessas plantas na dieta desse marsupial, relacionado ao suprimento da demanda energética e de água, principalmente na época seca.

A New Species ofMemecylon(Melastomataceae) from Taiwan

Memecylon pendulum Chih C. Wang, Y. H. Tseng, Y. T. Chen & Kun C. Chang, a new species of Melastomataceae from Taiwan, is described and illustrated. This new species is allied to M. lanceolatum Blanco but is clearly distinguished by its pendulous branchlets, smaller leaves to 7 cm long, shallowly 4-lobed calyx, obtuse or rounded apices of flower buds, and yellowish green fruit at maturity.

Two new species of Bertolonia (Melastomataceae) from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Bertolonia alternifolia and B. bullata, two new endemic species of Melastomataceae from the Atlantic Forest biome of the southern region of Bahia state, Brazil, are described and illustrated based on recent botanical explorations and literature records. The main diagnostic characteristics that distinguish B. alternifolia are alternate leaves with cordate bases, and anthers with terminal-dorsal pores and unappendaged connectives. B. bullata can be identified by having leaves bullate on the adaxial surface, foveolate on the abaxial surface and bases cordate to cordate-lobate, calyx lobes with entire to slightly undulate margins, and stamens dorsally appendaged. Both species are classified as Critically Endangered (CR) and Endangered (EN) respectively.

SEM studies on the leaf indumentum of six Melastomataceae species from Brazilian Cerrado

Abstract The wide diversity of their trichomes, which vary from simple unicellular to very complex structures, is a remarkable characteristic in Melastomataceae. This paper characterizes the leaf indumentum of Miconia albicans (Sw.) Triana, M. chamissois Naudin, M. fallax DC., M. ligustroides (DC.) Naudin, Microlepis oleaefolia (DC.) Triana and Rhynchanthera dichotoma DC., typical species from Brazilian cerrado. Samples collected from the median third of young and mature leaf blades were processed following the usual scanning electron microscopy techniques (SEM). We observed ten morphological types of trichomes and four of emergences. With five different types, four of which are reported for the first time, Rhynchanthera dichotoma is the species that presents the most diverse indumenta. A mixed type of trichome formed by a glandular and a branched non-glandular portion called "lateral-gland" was observed in M. ligustroides. Such non-glandular portion presents different degrees of development. A correlation is suggested between the stage of development of the non-glandular portion and the exposition to light of these "lateral gland" on young leaves.

Fractal analysis of leaf-texture properties as a tool for taxonomic and identification purposes: a case study with species from Neotropical Melastomataceae (Miconieae tribe)

Melastomataceae is a common and dominant family in Neotropical vegetation, with high species diversity which leads to a large variation in some morphological structures. Despite this, some species of Melastomataceae are very similar in their external leaf morphology, leading to difficulties in their identification without the presence of reproductive organs. Here we have proposed and tested a computer-aided texture-based approach used to correctly identify and distinguish leaves of some species of Melastomataceae that occur in a region of Neotropical savanna in Southeastern Brazil, also comparing it with other previously proposed approaches. The results demonstrated that our approach may clearly separate the studied species, analyzing the patterns of leaf texture (both adaxial and abaxial surfaces), and achieving better accuracy (100%) than other methods. Our work has suggested that leaf texture properties can be used as a new characteristic for identification, and as an additional source of information in taxonomic and systematic studies. As the method may be supervised by experts, it is also suitable for discrimination of species with high morphological plasticity, improving the automated discrimination task. This approach can be very useful for identification of species in the absence of reproductive material, and is a rapid and powerful tool for plant identification.

Aluminum accumulation in nineteen Melastomataceae species from three contrasting plant formations in acid soils

AbstractThis study describes the aluminum (Al) accumulation in relation to macronutrient and micronutrient elements in 19 Melastomataceae species in the Guayana Region in Venezuela. The purpose was to investigate the Al accumulation in four tribes and different life forms. Aluminum accumulation was predicted in the basal tribes Miconieae and Merianieae in contrast to the derived tribes and herbs from any tribe, which generally do not accumulate Al. The survey was done in a vegetation continuum, which includes a savanna shrubland, a palm‐swamp community, and an evergreen forest in the Guayana region in southeastern Venezuela. The highest value of soil Al concentration was found in the savanna shrubland, where ten lignified Miconiae and one Merianeae Al accumulators were present. At the forest, the site with highest soil acidity, four Al‐accumulator tree species from Miconiae were found. Miconia lepidota showed similar Al foliar concentrations in the savanna shrubland and forest, but foliar Ca was lower in the forest, even though it was the site with highest Ca in the soil. At the palm‐swamp community, the Melastomeae shrub Macairea pachyphylla was found with an Al concentration of 0.59 g kg–1 in leaves and 0.16 g kg–1 in bark. At the same site, Al accumulation occurred in one Microlicieae species, one Miconieae species, and in the Melastomeae herbs Pterogastra divaricata (13.25 g [kg dry mass]–1) and Pterolepis trichotoma (17.83 g kg–1). The report of Al hyperaccumulation in P. trichotoma is new for the genus, and Al accumulation in herbs is considered exceptional. The foliar Al concentration was positively correlated (p < 0.005) with Fe (r = 0.64, n = 20) and Zn (r = 0.63). The analysis of the relationships between soil Al, Fe, or Zn and the concentrations of these elements in leaves revealed they were not significantly correlated. The results indicate Al hyperaccumulation in two herbaceous Melastoamataceae species and suggest Al accumulation in this life form deserves future research. However, they also confirm the highest number of Al accumulators in lignified species of the ancient tribe Miconiae (14 out of 19 species studied).

Incomplete lateral anisophylly in Miconia and Leandra (Melastomataceae): inter- and intraspecific patterns of variation in leaf dimensions

Anisophylly can be defined as the unequal growth of two leaves in a pair from a single branch node. It occurs in several opposite-leafed taxa, even in those with apparently no phylogenetic proximity. We have intended here to classify and describe the anisophylly found in ten species of Melastomataceae from two genera, Leandra and Miconia, using morphometric data. We developed a method to quantify the level of anisophylly in these species, using a parameter called “Anisophylly Index” (AI), with values ranging from nearly 0 (isophyllous) to 1 (strongly anisophyllous). A comparison between the leaves from the erect and lateral branches of Leandra barbinervis showed that this species has incomplete lateral anisophylly; i.e., only the lateral branches are anisophyllous, and in these only the pairs positioned in a dorso-ventral position are unequal, while pairs positioned in a horizontal position are isophyllous. The lateral branches of all species showed incomplete anisophylly. There is no apparent relation between anisophylly levels and area of the leaves. Anisophylly seems to be related to an increase in the efficiency on light capture, and perhaps is controlled by auxins. Its occurrence does not imply a gain or a loss of photosynthetic area of the anisophyllous pair, when compared to the isophyllous pairs in the lateral branches because total leaf area is equal (Table 1). Since the incomplete lateral anisophylly found in Leandra and Miconia is a character whose expression may vary according to environmental conditions and also between different regions of the same plant, it can not be considered as a reliable taxonomic character.

Una nueva especie de Tibouchina (Melastomataceae) del Sur de México

Tibouchina sericea, a new species of Melastomataceae from isolated pine forests of southern Mexico, is described and illustrated. This species resembles the rare T. nanifolia in the short and open pubescence of the stem, and the yellow subisomorphic anthers, but differs in the bullate leaves and the bulla-based hypanthial hairs.

Leandra altomacaensis (Melastomataceae), a new species from Brazil

Leandra altomacaensis (sect. Oxymeris), a new endemic species of Melastomataceae from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is described and illustrated. Diagnostic characteristics of the species are the leaves sparsely stellulate-lepidote, triplinerved, and calyx lobes small, with apex acute-apiculate. Leandra gracilis var. glazioviana is proposed as a synonym of this new species.

Komposisi jenis dan struktur hutan hujan tropika dataran rendah di taman nasional danau sentarum, kalimantan barat

The objective of this research was to obtain information on species composition and structure of lowland tropical rain forest in Sentarum lake National Park, West Kalimantan. The research was carried out from 26 to 31 December 2003 and from 20 January to 5 February 2004 on the foot slope of Semujan Hill in Sentarum lake National Park. To carry out the research, 10 sample units {SU'S) with size of 10 m x 10 m each, were placed, based on systematic sampling with random start scheme, with distance of 10 m between each SU. On each SU, trees with diameter~ 2 em were identified and diameter {DBH) and height were recorded. Eighty four {84) tree species were found in a 0.1 ha SU, consisting of 32 families, dominated by 16 species of Dipterocarpaceae, followed by 9 species of Guttiferae and 5 species of Melastomataceae. Tree density decreased exponentially with increasing the diameter of trees.