Pollen profile of Geopropolis samples collected of “Tiúba” (Melipona (Melikerria) fasciculata Smith 1854) in areas of Cerrado and flooded fields in the state of Maranhão, Brazil

• Published in: Revista brasileira de botânica Vol. 39; no. 3; pp. 895 - 912
• Main Authors: Ribeiro, Monique Hellen Martins, de Albuquerque, Patrícia Maia Correia, da Luz, Cynthia Fernandes Pinto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01-09-2016; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biomedical and Life Sciences; Botany; Life Sciences; Melipona fasciculata; Plant Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography; Pollen; Vegetation; Brazil; Cerrado Biome; Apidae; Bee flora; Meliponinae; Geopropolis; Pollen grains
• ISSN: 0100-8404; 1806-9959
• DOI: 10.1007/s40415-016-0280-0

The pollen spectrum of 120 samples of
Melipona (Melikerria) fasciculata
Smith 1854 geopropolis from two phytogeographical regions of Maranhão, Brazil was analyzed. This study aimed to characterize the palynologically geopropolis produced by this species of bee. Samples were collected monthly in Palmeirândia (seasonally flooded fields vegetation) and Barreirinhas (“Cerrado” vegetation). A total of 121 pollen types were identified and distributed into 52 families and 84 genera. The predominant pollen types (>45 %) were
Adenocalymma inundatum
(Bignoniaceae),
Bauhinia
reflexa
(Caesalpiniaceae),
Caryocar
(Caryocaraceae),
Chamaecrista
(Fabaceae),
Lafoensia
(Lythraceae),
Mauritia
(Arecaceae),
Machaerium
(Fabaceae),
Mimosa
pudica
(Mimosaceae), and
Ouratea
(Ochnaceae). The pollen types
Adenocalymma inundatum
,
Adenocalymma
sp.,
Anadenanthera, Astrocaryum
,
Casearia
,
Caesalpinia
,
Caryophyllaceae
,
Cecropia
,
Crotalaria
,
Croton
,
Cydista aequinoctialis
,
Desmodium incanum
,
Drymaria
,
Euphorbia
,
Eupatorium
,
Eugenia
,
Ficus
,
Gustavia
, Lecythidaceae,
Malphigia
,
Maytenus
,
Mimosa verrucosa
, Moraceae,
Neptunia
,
Opuntia
,
Protium
,
Piptadenia
,
Pontederia
,
Polygonum
,
Schinnus
and
Wulffia
were exclusive to samples from the seasonally flooded fields vegetation (Palmeirândia), whereas
Acacia
,
Amaranthus
, Arecaceae,
Banara guianensis
,
Bauhinia guianensis
, Bignoniaceae,
Borreria latifolia
,
Byrsonima
, Bromeliaceae,
Cupania
,
Dalbergia
,
Fridericia
,
Galactia
,
Irlbachia
, Malpighiaceae,
Maytenus ilicifolia, Miconia/Tibouchina
, Myrtaceae,
Ouratea
,
Parkia
,
Pavonia
,
Picramnia
,
Phyllanthus
,
Securidaca
,
Stryphnodendron
, Scrophulariaceae,
Rourea
, Tiliaceae,
Trema
,
Xyris
, and
Wedelia
were exclusive to the “Cerrado” vegetation (Barreirinhas). Some of these species are resin producers. The palynological analysis of
M.
fasciculata
geopropolis from the state of Maranhão was valuable for the phytogeographical characterization of the samples, and it provided knowledge on the botanical origin of the resin.