Pouteria (Sapotaceae) from Estação Biologica de Santa Lúcia, ES, Brazil

Abstract

Sapotaceae (Ericales) is a pantropical family holding 58 genera and about 1,250 species with Pouteria being the richest genus holding ca. 200 species. In Brazil there are 124 species, of which 52 are endemic. In the Brazilian Atlantic Forest 40 species are recorded, most of them from Espírito Santo and Bahia states. The present study aimed to provide a better morphological and taxonomic understanding about Pouteria species from Estação Biológica de Santa Lúcia (EBSL), Espírito Santo, Brazil. A total of 13 taxa were identified in EBSL: Pouteria bangii, P. bullata, P. caimito, P. cuspidata, P. durlandii, P. gardneri, P. guianensis, P. macahensis, P. macrocarpa, P. psammophila, P. reticulata, P. samborae, and P. venosa subsp. amazonica. Descriptions, identification key and taxonomic comments are provided. Main vegetative useful features to distinguish them are leaf venation pattern, presence/absence of lenticels, secondary and tertiary leaf veins pattern, and indumentum. Inflorescence location, number of sepals, corolla lobes, locules, and seeds are the most important reproductive characters to determine the species.