Plant architecture and evolution in Myrteae (Myrtaceae)

• Grant number: 23/13513-8
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: May 01, 2024
• End date: April 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Botany - Plant Taxonomy
• Principal Investigator: Matheus Fortes Santos
• Grantee: Matheus Fortes Santos
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (CCNH). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Ministério da Educação (Brasil). Santo André , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The architecture of land plants is one of the most remarkable features of this group, as well as a key element of landscapes. Human interest about plant architecture appeared along with botany in ancient Greece, however it was only in the 1970s that it emerged as a discipline. In the last years, plant architecture has been investigated in a broader and more integrative context, including evolution and ecology of many taxa. Beyond vegetative structures, plant architecture also includes inflorescences, whose history of knowledge is broader and older. Very few studies on plant architecture have been conducted in Neotropical Myrtaceae (tribe Myrteae), despite being one of the most significant groups in the region. The study will analyse in an integrated way plant architecture, inflorescence position, evolution and biogeography in the Neotropical region, using clades of Myrteae as a model group. The specific aims are: 1) to describe plant architecture of genus Myrcia (subtribe Myrciinae); 2) to analyse how the plant architecture has influenced the evolution and biogeography of the clade Myrciinae + Pliniinae; 3) to expand the knowledge generated by the project to the society, valuing botany through the scientific divulgation. The morphological study will be carried out in the field and in the herbarium collections. Plant architecture in Myrcia will be described in three categories: growth process; branching process; morphological diferentiation of axes. The position of inflorescences in Myrteae will be analysed in phylogenetic and biogeographic hypothesis, including also climatic data. The project will be carried out during a two year period at UFABC. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

SANTOS, MATHEUS F.; AMORIM, BRUNO S.; BURTON, GEORGE P.; FARIA, JAIR E. Q.; FERNANDES, THIAGO; FLICKINGER, JONATHAN A.; GAEM, PAULO HENRIQUE; LANDRUM, LESLIE R.; LIMA, DUANE F.; PROENCA, CAROLYN E. B.; et al. A taxonomic account of Myrciinae (Myrteae, Myrtaceae): generic and sectional placement of forgotten species and a list of all accepted species. PHYTOTAXA, v. 674, n. 2, p. 42-pg., 2024-11-27. (23/13513-8)

SANTOS, MATHEUS F.. Taxonomic monograph of Myrcia sect. Eugeniopsis (Myrciinae, Myrteae, Myrtaceae), an endemic clade of Eastern South America. PHYTOTAXA, v. 703, n. 1, p. 100-pg., 2025-05-30. (23/13513-8)