MELASTOMATACEAE IN MENDANHA STATE PARK, RIO DE JANEIRO, RJ: SURVEY AND REPRODUCTIVE PHENOLOGY

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.0973622601046

• Palavras-chave: Dispersal, Diversity, Floristics, Atlantic Forest, Pollination.

• Keywords: Dispersal, Diversity, Floristics, Atlantic Forest, Pollination. .

• Abstract:

  The objective of this study was to survey the species of the Melastomataceae family occurring in Mendanha State Park (PEM) through field collections and herbarium records. The characteristics of reproductive phenology related to phenological periods, as well as their pollinators and dispersers, were also observed. PEM covers the municipalities of Rio de Janeiro, Nova Iguaçu, and Mesquita. This study was conducted in the West Zone of the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro, between the neighborhoods of Bangu and Campo Grande, in three regions: Mendanha State Park, Serra do Mendanha Municipal Natural Park (PNMSM), and the Gericinó-Mendanha Environmental Protection Area (APA). Collections were made from 2018 to 2023, and consultations of herbarium collections were conducted both online and in person in 2023. In Rio de Janeiro, the Melastomataceae family comprises approximately 25 genera and 298 species, characterized by simple, opposite, cross-arranged leaves with curvilinear veins. In the Park, 23 species belonging to 6 genera were recorded: Clidemia, Leandra, Meriania, Miconia, Ossaea, and Pleroma. The most representative genus in terms of species count was Miconia with 9 spp., followed by the genera Leandra and Pleroma, with 5 and 4 spp., respectively. The genera Clidemia and Meriania, on the other hand, each had only one species. The species studied here are visited by small, medium, and large bees that vibrate on the anthers to collect pollen, and they exhibit annual and continuous flowering, which can occur throughout the year.