Expanding the description of Bionia bella Mart. ex Benth. (Leguminosae, Papilionoideae)

Abstract

Bionia bella Mart. ex Benth. (Leguminosae, Papilionoideae) is restricted to the Atlantic Forest Biome in the Brazilian states of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo. The vegetative and floral structures of the species were first described by George Bentham in 1837. The objective of the present study was to describe, for the first time, the fruits and seeds of the species, thus complementing the type material. From 2006 through 2010, we observed four populations of the species in a forest fragment near Serra do Brigadeiro State Park, located in the municipality of Araponga, in the state of Minas Gerais. Two of the four populations fruited only in 2010, and the other two populations produced no fruit during the study period. The fruits of B. bella are of the legume type, with explosive dehiscence, as in other species of the genus. The seeds are broad-elliptical, and the testa presents rugose ornamentation. Bionia bella is a good candidate for reproductive biology studies aimed at understanding reproductive difficulties in such species.