Polyembryony in angiospermous trees of the Brazilian Cerrado and Caatinga vegetation

The occurrence of polyembryony was investigated in 75 woody species of the Cerrado in central Brazil and the xerophilous Caatinga vegetation in northeastern Brazil. Fourteen species showed polyembryony, a type of anomalous angiospermous reproduction. Polyembryony is reported for the first time for nine genera, Astronium, Byrsonima, Cariniana, Copaifera, Hancornia, Magonia, Myracrodruon, Tabebuia, and Tapirira. The positive correlation found between polyembryony, sexual reproduction, and apomictic processes suggests that a number of angiospermous species may make regular use of multiple breeding systems.<br>A ocorrência de poliembrionia foi investigada em 75 espécies lenhosas do Cerrado do Brasil central e da Caatinga xerófila do nordeste brasileiro. Quatorze espécies apresentaram poliembrionia, uma modalidade de reprodução anômala em angiospermas. Poliembrionia é relatada pela primeira vez para nove gêneros, Astronium, Byrsonima, Cariniana, Copaifera, Hancornia, Magonia, Myracrodruon, Tabebuia e Tapirira. A correlação positiva encontrada entre poliembrionia, reprodução sexual e processos apomíticos sugere que parte das espécies de angiospermas faça uso regular de sistemas de cruzamento múltiplos

Crop domestication in the upper Madeira River basin

Most native Amazonian crops were domesticated in the periphery of the basin. The upper Madeira River basin is an important part of this periphery where several important crops were domesticated and others are suspected to have been domesticated or arrived early. Some of these crops have been reasonably well studied, such as manioc, peanut, peach palm, coca and tobacco, while others are not as well known, such as the hot peppers Capsicum baccatum and C. frutescens, and still others need confirmation, such as cocoyam and annatto. We review the information available for manioc, peach palm, Capsicum, peanut, annatto and cocoyam. The state-of-the-art for Capsicum frutescens, annatto and cocoyam is insufficient to conclude definitively that they were domesticated in the upper Madeira, while all the others have at least one of their origins or centers of diversity in the upper Madeira