Researchers from the Laboratory of Indigenous Seeds of the Institute of Biosciences of the Federal University of Mato Grosso – Cuiaba Campus – who participated in the first expedition of the “Flora das RPPNs Cristalino” project, held in November this year, found seeds of the plant known as Guava Tarta (Belluciagrosularioides). Of the family Melastomataceae. The seeds are found in the Cerrado and Amazon and are part of the diet of primates, agouti, tapirs and others.
“Flora das RPPNs Cristalino” is a project developed by Fundação Ecológica Cristalino in partnership with UFMT and UNEMAT. The seed, the size of a grain of sand, germinates and becomes a tree with white flowers and fruits that many mammals desire.
Biologist and professor in the Department of Botany and Ecology at UFMT, Patricia Carla de Oliveira, who was part of the team of scientists studying plants in the Special Natural Heritage Reserve, in northern Mato Grosso, celebrated the “discovery”.
In total, 43 seed and fruit samples were collected from Amazonian plants. The researcher says that today this is the smallest seed that will be part of the UFMT Laboratory’s collection of indigenous seeds. “A large part of the seed collection so far consists of seeds of plants from the Cerrado and Pantanal region. By participating in the “Flora das RPPNs Cristalino” project, we will have the opportunity to enrich studies on the Amazon bioregion, through consultation,” he said.
Seed and fruit studies seek to evaluate what each plant needs and what it tolerates at its most diverse stages to survive in the environment. Research is essential in a region that is home to some of the world’s greatest nature – the largest tropical forest on the planet, the largest gene bank and the largest river basin.
In the Laboratory of Local Seeds, research is carried out on indigenous seeds and seedlings of species from the Pantanal, Cerrado and Amazonia, starting from the characterization of biological units, the determination of tolerance limits to adverse conditions, and predictions about the survival of species in different scenarios. .
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