João Pedro Silvério Pena Bento

• State University of Campinas (UNICAMP)

Ceiba is a genus of tree species with a predominantly neotropical distribution which, in general, are readily recognized in the landscape in the vegetative stage by their large trunk with prickles, commonly ventricose (swollen). Some Ceiba species have overlapping geographical distributions, such as Ceiba speciosa and Ceiba pubiflora. These species...

Halophytes are characterized by their ability to survive in environments with high salinity, and many of these species eliminate excess salts through secretory structures, such as salt glands or bladders. Rhizophora mangle, however, is a halophyte that does not have specialized structures for eliminating salts, but it does have lenticels located on...

1. The effect of environmental gradients on the remarkable diversity of mountain- associated plants and on the species' abilities to cope with climate change tran-scends species-specific strategies. For instance, our understanding of the impact of thermal gradients on ecological divergences in populations of widely distrib-uted species is limited,...

In ecosystems that are potentially exposed to high levels of metal pollution, rapid and simple detection techniques that use bioindicator plants can be useful. In this study, leaves of Rhizophora mangle were analyzed from mangrove forests close to two industrial centers subjected to high levels of metal pollution - Pedra de Guaratiba with lower and...

Gametophytic self-incompatibility (GSI) has been mainly described in species-rich clades within Orchidaceae. We report GSI for a genus within Maxillariinae, one of the most conspicuous and diverse subtribes of neotropical orchids. Here, we describe the reproductive system of Brasiliorchis picta, B. phoenicanthera, and B. porphyrostele. Anatomical s...

Brazilian mangroves have been severely impacted by metallurgical, petrochemical, pyrometallurgical smelters and other industrial activities. In Rio de Janeiro, mangroves are part of the Atlantic Rainforest now under the stress of high levels of industrial waste. Therefore, this work aimed to detect potentially toxic elements (PTEs) by evaluating th...

Discolobium and Riedeliella, exclusively South American genera, have been shown in phylogenetic analyses to be the sister group to the Pterocarpus clade. The species of the two genera can be confused when reproductive structures are absent, resulting in taxonomic misunderstandings in botanical collections. This study aimed to investigate the anatom...

Discolobium and Riedeliella, exclusively South American genera, have been shown in phylogenetic analyses to be the sister group to the Pterocarpus clade. The species of the two genera can be confused when reproductive structures are absent, resulting in taxonomic misunderstandings in botanical collections. This study aimed to investigate the anatom...

Rhizophora mangle L. (Rhizophoraceae) is a halophyte from two mangroves in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. This work aimed to determine the presence of environmental contaminants in the leaf of R. mangle through morphological and chemical analyses. We collected samples in Coroa Grande mangrove (CG), near an indus...

The secretory structures of Alismataceae have been described as secretory ducts, laticifer ducts, laticifer canals or schizogenous ducts. However, these terms are not found in the specialized literature, and ontogenetic analyses for the exact classification of these structures are missing. Accordingly, more studies regarding the secretory structure...

Non-papilionate and actinomorphic flowers have evolved independently in Papilionoideae, and few ontogeny studies are available about them. The objective of the present study was to better understand the ontogenetic processes that result in papilionate and non-papilionate flowers in a sister group of the Pterocarpus clade. Inflorescences, flower bud...

Leaves of Laguncularia racemosa (L.) Gaertn. f. were collected from the following mangroves along Brazil’s southeastern Atlantic coast: Coroa Grande (CG), Pedra de Guaratiba (PG) and Marambaia (M). This work aimed to evaluate the presence of minerals by Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and Inductively coupled plasma - optical emission spe...

This study aimed to investigate the leaf epicuticular wax and the presence of heavy metals in leaves of Avicennia shaueriana, a halophyte found in Brazilian mangroves. We evaluated plants collected in mangroves located around Sepetiba Bay, Rio de Janeiro state. Heavy metals were analyzed by Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS or EDX) and indu...