Pollen morphology in Athenaea Sendtn. and Aureliana Sendtn. (Solanaceae)

Abstract

Aureliana and Athenaea (Withaniinae, Solanaceae) are two genera of shrubs or small trees with centres of diversity in the Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest. They are difficult to distinguish using gross morphology, and are traditionally segregated based on differences in fruiting calyx size. Pollen grains of all taxa were acetolysed, treated and examined with light and scanning electron microscopy, with the aim of identifying diagnostic characters. Microphotographs and illustrations of pollen grains are presented. The species analysed present small- to medium-sized monad pollen grains of varying morphology with long to extremely long colpi, and lalongate endoapertures. The analysis showed that the pollen grains of both genera are very similar, differing in size-related characters. These data contributed to the synonymisation of Athenaea within Aureliana.

Keywords:

• Brazilian Withaniinae
• systematics
• Atlantic Rain Forest
• pollen morphology

Acknowledgements

We thank Karin Elise Bohns Meyer and Raquel Franco Cassino for the support and helpful guidance on the acetolysis process; Andréia Cardoso Pacheco Evaldt and André Ramos for their valuable assistance, and for receiving the first author in the Palynology Laboratory of Universidade Luterana do Brasil; and Sandy Knapp for reviewing the English.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG) under Grant [APQ-02015-11] and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) under doctoral scholarship to the first author [143004/2009-3].

Notes on contributors

Izabella Martins da Costa Rodrigues

IZABELLA MARTINS DA COSTA RODRIGUES graduated in biology (emphasis on plant biology) from the Universidade Federal de Viçosa, and has a Master's degree in plant science (agronomy) from the same institution (2008). She has a PhD in plant biology from the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (2013), and part of this study was performed in London at the Natural History Museum. Izabella has experience in plant biology (systematics and taxonomy), Solanaceae taxonomy, palynology, plant morphology, reproductive biology, allelopathy and weed management.

Bruno Fernandes Falcão

BRUNO FERRNANDES FALCÃO graduated in biology from the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. He is currently a Master's student at the same institution. Bruno has experience in plant systematics and taxonomy, Solanaceae reproductive biology and pollination biology.

João Renato Stehmann

JOÃO RENATO STEHMANN has a PhD in plant biology from the Universidade Estadual de Campinas. He is a specialist on the Solanaceae family and is advisor for the postgraduate Program in Plant Biology at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. João researches flowering plant taxonomy, systematics in Solanaceae and floristic studies. Currently, he is curator of the collection of dicotyledons and the BHCB herbarium database, contributes to the management committee of the Institutos Nacionais de Ciência e Tecnologia (INCT) Virtual Herbarium of Flora and Fungi of Brazil, and operates in coordination of the Species List of the flora of Brazil.

Soraia Girardi Bauermann

SORAIA GIRARDI BAUERMANN graduated in biology from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, and has a Master's degree in botany from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (1989) and a PhD in geosciences from the same institution (2003). Currently, she is a professor at the Universidade Luterana do Brasil, Ulbra Canoas, coordinator of the Palynology Laboratory and research coordinator. Soaraia has experience in botany and palaeontology, acting on the following topics: pollen morphology, surface samples and palaeoenvironmental reconstitution of Quaternary palynology.