Taxonomy and Palynotaxonomy of the genera Camonea Raf., Distimake Raf. and Operculina Silva Manso (Convolvulaceae) of the São Luís Island, Maranhão
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70782/heringeriana.v20ib.918110Keywords:
palinology, Solanales, taxonomic treatmentAbstract
The Convolvulaceae family is widely distributed throughout Brazil and comprises 24 genera and 431 species. The current classification of Convolvulaceae is based on an extensive molecular phylogenetic analysis in which 12 tribes have been recognised. Previously the genera Camonea, Distimake and Operculina were part of the tribe Merremieae, however, based on current topologies, these genera are not included in any tribe. The family exhibits great diversity when it comes to pollen morphology, being considered eurypalynous and subdivided in Echinoconiae (spiny pollen grains) and Psiloconiae (psilate pollen grains). In the state of Maranhão, few studies have focused on the family, the main studies include new records for the state and floristic surveys conducted in more preserved areas. The objective of this work was to present a taxonomic and palinological treatment of the species of the genera Camonea, Distimake and Operculina occurring in São Luís Island. To this end, field trips were conducted in the island’s municipalities to collect plant samples, and visits to local herbaria, as well as consultations to other virtual herbaria were also carried out. Five species were identified on the island: C. umbellata, D. aegyptius, D. cissoides, D. macrocalyx and O. hamiltonii. An identification key, morphological and palynological descriptions, taxonomic comments and illustrative plates of the species are presented. This study contributes to the knowledge of São Luís Island flora, providing support for future work, such as floristic surveys, conservation actions, ecological and palynological studies.
References
Austin, D.F. & Staples, G.W. (1983) Additions and changes in the neotropical Convolvulaceae - notes on Merremia, Operculina, and Turbina. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 64: 483-489. https://doi.org/10.5962/BHL.PART.27412
Austin, D.F. (2007) Merremia dissecta (Convolvulaceae): condiment, medicine, ornamental and weed - a review. Economic Botany 61: 109-120. https://doi.org/10.1663/0013-0001(2007)61[109:MDCCMO]2.0.CO;2
BELO, D. P. et al. (2020) Convolvulaceae de Pernambuco, Brasil I: Camonea, Daustinia, Distimake e Operculina. Rodriguésia, 71.
Buril, M.T., Delgado Júnior, G.C., Barbosa, M.R.V. & Alves, M. (2013) Convolvulaceae do Cariri Paraibano. Revista Nordestina de Biologia 21(2): 3-26.
Conceição, G.M., Silva, D.S. & Rodrigues, M.S. (2014) Aspectos florísticos e ecológicos da família Convolvulaceae da área de proteção ambiental municipal de Inhamum, Caxias, Maranhão, Brasil. Brazilian Geographical Journal: Geosciences and Humanities research medium 5(2): 595-613.
Ellis, B., Daly, D.C., Hickey, L.J., Johnson, K.R., Mitchell, J.D., Wilf, P. & Wing, S.L. (2009) Manual of Leaf Architecture. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 190 pp.
Erdtman, G. (1960) The acetolysis method. A revised description. Svensk Botanisk Tidskrift, 54: 561-564.
Garcia, A.L., Bezerra, I.M.S., Buril, M.T. & Marinho, L.C. (2025) First record of the potential bioinvasive species Ipomoea obscura (Convolvulaceae) in South America coast. Journal of coastal conservation, 29: 3. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11852-024-01088-5
Guarçoni, E.A.E., Amorim, D.S., Sosa, J.M. & Lopes, R.C.C. (2022) First records of Ipomoea subrevoluta Choisy (Convolvulaceae) for the Flora of Maranhão state, northeastern Brazil. Acta Brasiliensis 6(2): 69-71. https://doi.org/10.22571/2526-4338572
Halbritter, H., Ulrich, S., Grímsson, F., Weber, M., Zetter, R., Hesse, M., Buchner, R., Svojtka, M. & Frosch-Radivo, A. (2018) Illustrated Pollen Terminology. Cham Springer International Publishing, Cham, 483 pp.
Hallier, H.J.G. (1893) Versuch einer naturlichen gliederung der Convolvulaceae. Botanical Journal Arboretum 16: 479-591.
Lacerda, M.A., Silva, R.A., Linhares, P.C.F., Maracajá, P.B. & Pinto, M.S.C. (2015) Potencial forrageiro da Jitirana (Merremia aegyptia) para a produção de feno no semiárido nordestino. Agropecuária Científica no Semiárido 11: 44-52. https://doi.org/10.30969/acsa.v11i1.609
Lourenço, J.A.A.M., Correia, B.E.F., Diniz, M.R., Rêgo, M.M.C., Almeida Júnior, E.B. & Buril, M.T. (2020) Ampliação da distribuição de Daustinia montana (Moric.) Buril & A.R.Simões (Convolvulaceae): registro da primeira ocorrência para o Maranhão, Brasil. Biota Amazônia 10(1): 53-55. http://dx.doi.org/10.18561/2179-5746/biotaamazonia.v10n1p53-55
Michelin, D.C. & Salgado, H.R.N. (2004) Avaliação da atividade laxante de Operculina macrocarpa L. Urban (Convolvulaceae). Revista Brasileira de Farmacognosia 14(2): 105-109. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0102-695X2004000200003
Mori, S.A., Silva, L.A.M., Lisboa, G. & Coradin, L. (1989) Manual do Manejo do Herbário Fanerogâmico. 2 ed. CEPLAC, Ilhéus. 104 pp.
Nascimento, J.S., Silva, G.S., Pastore, M. & Oliveira, R.R. (2022) A synopsis of Convolvulaceae from the Upper Turi-Gurupi region in the Amazon of Maranhão, Brazil. Acta Brasiliensis 6(1): 49-60. https://doi.org/10.22571/2526-4338574
Nascimento, J.M., Silva, G.S., Camelo Júnior, A.E., Rocha, A.F.R., Gonçalves, A.S. & Conceição, G.M. (2022) Levantamento florístico de trepadeiras em um remanescente florestal de Cerrado, no município de Caxias, Maranhão, Brasil. Brazilian Journal of Science 1(4): 64-78. https://doi.org/10.14295/bjs.v1i4.77
Petrongari, F.S. & Simões, A.R. (2026) Distimake in Flora e Funga do Brasil. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro. Available at:<https://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/FB603595>. Acesso em 31 mar. 2026.
POWO. (2026) Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Disponível em: https://powo.science.kew.org/ (acesso: 20 Maio 2026).
Punt, W., Hoen, P.P., Blackmore, S., Nilsson, S. & Le Thomas, A. (2007) Glossary of pollen and spore terminology. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 143: 1-81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2006.06.008
Radford, A.E., Dickison, W.C., Massey, J.R. & Bell, C.R. (1974) Vascular Plant Systematics. HarperCollins Publishers, Nova York. 877 pp.
Santos, D., Teixeira, M.C.P., Souza, E.B. & Buril, M.T. (2020) Flora do município de Massapê, Estado do Ceará, Brasil: Convolvulaceae Juss. Hoehnea, 47: e602019. https://doi.org/10.1590/2236-8906-60/2019
Santos, D. et al. (2021) Diversity of Convolvulaceae from Meruoca Massif, Ceará, Brazil. Rodriguésia, 72: e01522020. https://doi.org/10.1590/2175-7860202172110
Sengupta, S. (1972) On the pollen morphology of Convolvulaceae with special reference to taxonomy. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 13 (3–4): 157–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/0034-6667(72)90030-9
Simão-Bianchini, R., Ferreira, P.P.A., Pastore, M., Delgado Junior, G.C., Vasconcelos, L.V., Petrongari, F.S., Moreira, A.L.C., Buril, M.T., Simões, A.R. & Silva, C.V. (2026a) Convolvulaceae in Flora e Funga do Brasil. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro. Available at:<https://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/FB93>. Acesso em 31 mar. 2026.
Simão-Bianchini, R., Petrongari, F.S. & Simões, A.R. (2026b) Camonea in Flora e Funga do Brasil. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro. Available at:<https://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/FB605615>. Acesso em 31 mar. 2026.
Simões, A.R.G., Eserman, L.A., Zuntini, A.R., Chatrou, L.W., Utteridge, T.M.A, Maurin, O., Rokni, S., Roy, S., Forest, F., Baker, W.J. & Stefanovic, S. (2022) A bird’s eye view of the systematics of Convolvulaceae: Novel insights from nuclear genomic data. Frontiers in Plant Science 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.889988
Simões, A.R., Culham, A. & Carine, M. (2015) Resolving the unresolved tribe: a molecular phylogenetic framework for the Merremieae (Convolvulaceae): Molecular phylogenetics of Merremieae. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 179: 374-387. https://doi.org/10.1111/boj.12339
Simões, A.R. & Petrongari, F.S. (2026) Operculina in Flora e Funga do Brasil. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro. Available at:<https://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/FB28445>. Acesso em 31 mar. 2026.
Simões, A.R. & Staples, G. (2017) Dissolution of Convolvulaceae tribe Merremieae and a new classification of the constituent genera. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 183: 561-586. https://doi.org/10.1093/botlinnean/box007
Staples, G.W., Simões, A.R. & Austin, D.F. (2020) A Monograph of Operculina (Convolvulaceae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 105 (1): 64-138. https://doi.org/10.3417/2020435
Stefanovic, S., Krueger, L. & Olmstead, R.G. (2002) Monophyly of the Convolvulaceae and circumscription of their major lineages based on DNA sequences of multiple chloroplast loci. American Journal of Botany 89(9): 1510-1522.
Stefanovic, S., Austin, D.F. & Olmstead, R. (2003) Classification of Convolvulaceae: a phylogenetic approach. Systematic Botany 28: 791- 806. https://doi.org/10.1043/02-45.1
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Isabella Martins Sousa Bezerra, João Vitor dos Reis Forwille, Thiago Rocha Castelo-Branco, Gisele Garcia Azevedo, Maria Teresa Buril, Lucas Cardoso Marinho
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
By submitting, the authors declare that they have not submitted the work to another journal and agree to have their article published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International BY License (CC BY 4.0), which means that authors retain ownership of the copyright but anyone can use the published content provided the original authors and source are cited. The scientific, orthographic and grammatical content is the full responsibility of the authors.
