ABSTRACT
The tribe Bignonieae represents eighty-five percent of Bignoniaceae in Brazil, which are predominantly lianas, although some genera also have a few suffruticose species. At the Parque Estadual do Rio Doce (PERD), one of the last Atlantic Forest stretches in the state of Minas Gerais, 37 species of that tribe were recorded. The main purposes of the present study were: to describe the PERD's Bignonieae species vertical distribution and to recognise the flowering phenological patterns displayed by them; and associating corolla morphological patterns and established floral syndromes with those found at PERD. All thirty-seven species were observed on 32 visits during 15 months. Vertical distribution occurred in three strata: canopy (75.7%), intra-crown (16.2%) and under-storey (8.1%), meaning that 24.3% of those species spread out to other ecological niches, besides the forest's higher stratum. The flowering phenological patterns were: big bang in 40.6% of the species, multiple bang in 21.6%, modified steady state in 16.2% and cornucopia in 13.5%. The Anemopaegma corolla type was the most representative (44.1% of the studied species), followed by the types Stizophyllum and Cydista (14.7%, each), Pithecoctenium and Pyrostegia (11.8%, each) and Tynnanthus (2.9%). Associating the floral morphology to a possible pollinator it was found that 83.8% of the species display floral types associated to bee-pollination, highlighting the importance of the Bignonieae on the maintenance of the large and middle sized bees in tropical forests.
Key words:
Atlantic forest; vertical distribution; phenological patterns; floral morphology; lianas