Characterization and Use of Bracteoles as Diagnostic Traits in Eugenia L. (Myrtaceae)

• Grant number: 25/07119-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: December 01, 2025
• End date: February 28, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Botany - Plant Taxonomy
• Principal Investigator: Fiorella Fernanda Mazine Capelo
• Grantee: João Victor Dias da Silva
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências e Tecnologias para a Sustentabilidade (CCTS). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). Sorocaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Eugenia L. (Myrtaceae) is the most species-rich angiosperm genus in Brazil, with 420 recognized native species and 1227 species worldwide. In addition to the large number of species, the genus presents high morphological homogeneity, making it a taxonomically complex genus. Divisions into subgenera and sections have been proposed with the aim of creating manageable units for future studies, but most species are still concentrated in a single section, Eugenia sect. Umbellatae. Therefore, this study aims to characterize and investigate the potential of bracteoles, understudied structures, to diagnose infrageneric groups in Eugenia. It also aims to investigate the factors that influence the great morphological diversity of the bracteoles in the species of the genus. To this end, herbarium specimens with reproductive structures deposited in national and international scientific collections will be analyzed. The 420 Brazilian species will be analyzed, as well as representatives of Eugenia sect. Jossinia, which occurs in the Old World. The characterization of the bracteoles will cover the following characters: position, fusion, degree of fusion, projection, length, width, general shape, apex shape, indumentum, margin indumentum, presence of central vein, presence of glands and deciduousness. The data will be analyzed in relation to infrageneric groups, life forms (tree or shrub) and biome occurrence. A database will be built with the characters of the bracteoles analyzed. Statistical analyses will assess how the independent variables (bracteole traits) relate to the dependent variables (infrageneric groups, life form, and biome).