Pollen morphology characterization is important in taxonomy, conservation and plant breeding, and pollen viability studies can support breeding programs. This study investigated pollen morphology and male fertility in 18 species of Bromeliaceae with ornamental potential. For morphological characterization, pollen grains were acetolyzed and characterization of exine was done using scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Pollen viability was investigated by in vitro germination and histochemical tests. Species belonging to Aechmea and Ananas genera presented medium size pollen, except for Ae. fasciata, with large pollen. Al. nahoumii, P. sagenarius and the Vriesea species analyzed showed large pollen, except for V. carinata, with very large pollen. Pollen of Aechmea, Ananas and P. sagenarius presented bilateral symmetry, diporate, exine varying from tectate to semitectate. Al. nahoumii and Vriesea species presented pollen with bilateral symmetry, monocolpate; exine was semitectate, reticulate and heterobrochate. Germination percentage and tube growth were greater in SM and BKM media. Histochemical tests showed pollen viability above 70% for all species, except for Ananas sp. (40%). Pollen morphology is important for the identification of species, especially in this family, which contains a large number of species. High rates of viability favor fertilization and seed production, essential for efficient hybrid production and conservation.

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A própolis é uma substância resinosa coletada por abelhas de diferentes partes de uma planta, portanto, sua qualidade é relacionada à sua origem botânica. O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar se os tipos polínicos encontrados indicam a origem botânica de suas resinas e contribuir com o conhecimento da relação destas abelhas com a vegetação do entorno do meliponário. Foram realizadas 31 coletas ao longo de 12 meses, com intervalo de sete dias entre elas. Os grãos de pólen foram extraídos da própolis e utilizados para confecção de lâminas para microscopia, posteriormente procedeu-se a identificação, contabilização e determinação das classes de frequência. Foram encontrados 94 tipos polínicos oriundos de 35 famílias botânicas. Borreria verticillata (34,17%) foi o tipo polínico mais frequente, seguido por Anadenanthera sp. (13,65%) e Mimosa caesalpiniifolia (10,5%). Fabaceae (38,37%) e Rubiaceae (34,18%) foram as famílias que apresentaram as maiores frequências polínicas. Foram encontrados também 34 tipos polínicos exclusivos, ou seja tipos ocorrentes somente em um determinado mês do ano, podendo ser indicadores da caracterização sazonal de floração das espécies e assim inferir dados sobre sua fenologia. Os resultados obtidos não possibilitaram a determinação da origem botânica das resinas, entretanto a grande variedade de tipos polínicos encontrados nas amostras de própolis indicou uma ampla interação entre as abelhas e as plantas e contribuíram para a caracterização fitogeográfica da própolis. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: abelha sem ferrão, meliponicultura, pólen.Pollen spectrum of Scaptotrigona aff. postica (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini) propolis from Barra do Corda, MA, Brazil ABSTRACT Propolis is a resinous substance collected by bees from different parts of a plant. Therefore, its quality is related to its botanical origin. The objective of the study was to verify whether the pollen types found indicate the botanical origin of their resins and contribute to understand the relationship of these bees with the vegetation surrounding the meliponary. Thirty one samples were collected over 12 months at seven day intervals. Pollen grains were extracted from the propolis and used to prepare microscope slides, after which identification, counting and determination of frequency classes was undertaken. A total of 94 pollen types were identified belonging to 35 plant families. Borreria verticillata (34.17%) was the most frequent pollen type, followed by Anadenanthera sp. (13.65%) and Mimosa caesalpiniifolia (10.5%). Fabaceae (38.37%) and Rubiaceae (34.18%) were the families with the highest pollen frequencies. There were also found 34 unique pollen types, i.e. types that only occur on a given month of the year which may be characterised as seasonal indicators for flowering species and thus infer data on their phenology. The results obtained were not enough to determine the botanical origin of the resins; however the wide variety of pollen types found in the propolis samples indicated a broad interaction between bees and plants a...

-(Pollen flora of Reserva do Parque Estadual das Fontes do Ipiranga (São Paulo, Brasil). Family: 54-Passifloraceae). Pollen grains of 11 species of Passifloraceae, belonging to the genus Passiflora L. (Passiflora alata Curtis, P. cincinnata Mast., P. edulis Sims, P. haematostigma Mart. ex Mast., P. jilekii Wawra, P. miersii Mast., P. morifolia Mast., P. porophylla Vell., P. sidaefolia M. Roemer, P. truncata Regel e P. villosa Vell.), ocurring in the Reserva do Parque Estadual das Fontes do Ipiranga were studied in the present work. Descriptions, illustrations, additional observations and pollen key are presented for all studied taxa.

-(Pollen flora of "Reserva do Parque Estadual das Fontes do Ipiranga" (São Paulo, Brazil). Family: 136-Solanaceae). Pollen grains of 12 genera and 41 species of Solanaceae occurring in the "Reserva do Parque Estadual das Fontes do Ipiranga" were examined: Acnistus arborescens (L.) Schlecht., Athenaea picta (Mart.) Sendtn., Brunfelsia latifolia Benth., Brunfelsia pauciflora IntroduçãoEste trabalho faz parte do projeto elaborado por Melhem et al. (1984), que visa realizar a caracterização morfológica dos grãos de pólen das famílias ocorrentes na Reserva do Parque Estadual das Fontes do Ipiranga (PEFI), complementando assim os estudos taxonômicos realizados na mesma área, segundo