Vismia Vand.

Vismia macrophylla

Vismia cayennensis

Descriptions -- Digested by bats -- Dispersed by bats -- Notes -- Species treatments -- References

Description. Shrubs or small trees, often of secondary habitats. Stipules absent. Leaves simple, opposite. Infructescences terminal or axillary, paniculate. Fruits berries, globose to ovoid, greenish, with persistent calyx and styles, with numerous seeds. Pericarp thick, mostly parenchymatous; mesocarp rich in secretory ducts, with orange-yellow latex. Seeds ellipsoid or oblong ellipsoid, straight or curved, 1.7-2.6 x 0.6-0.9 mm, brown or dark brown, glossy, the surface reticulate. Hilum small, roundish; vascular bundle enters chalaza. Seed coat of 3 cell layers derived from two integuments, the exotesta of large cells filled with brown pigment, the endotesta a layer of large or very small brown cells, the exotegmen a layer of sclereids with undulate cell walls and crystals in lumen, the other layers of tegmen compressed. Endosperm one layered. Embryo linear, straight, with large plano-convex cotyledons.

Digested by bats. The thick, fleshy, orange-yellowish or reddish pericarp is consumed by bats. The mesocarp and endocarp are composed of a starch rich pulp and the ducts secrete a latex rich in lipids (Mourão & Beltrati, 2001).

Dispersed by bats. Seeds.

Notes. Seeds of different species of Vismia can be distinguished by using the following characters: size, color, shape, and exotesta and endotesta structure.

Species treatments. V. guianensis, V. sessilifolia.

References.

Charles-Dominique, P. 1991. Feeding strategy and activity budget of the frugivorous bat Carollia perspicillata (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) in French Guiana. J. Trop. Ecol. 7: 243-256.

Charles-Dominique, P. 1993. Speciation and coevolution: an intrepretation of frugivory phenomena. Vegetatio 107/108: 75-84.

Mourão, K. S. M. and C. M. Beltrati. 2001. Morphology and anatomy of developing fruits and seeds of Vismia guianensis (Aubl.) Choisy (Clusiaceae). Rev. Brasil. Biol., 61 (1): 147-158.

Reis, N. R., dos & J.-L. Guillaumet. 1983. Les chauvees-souris frugivores de la région de Manaus et leur rôle dans la dissémination des espèces végétales. Rev. Ecol. (Terre et Vie) 38: 147-169.

Reis, N. R., dos & A. L. Peracchi. 1987. Quirópteros da região de Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil (Mammalia, Chiroptera). Bol Mus. Par. Emilio Goeldi, sér. Zool. 3: 161-182.