Chromosome studies on Brazilian cerrado plants

cerrado is the brazilian name for the neotropical savanna, which occurs mainly in brazilian central plateau, composed of herbaceous-subshrubby and shrubby-arboreal floras, both of which are heliophilous, highly diverse and regionally differentiated. considering species distribution and chromosome numbers, some authors have proposed that the herbaceous-subshrubby flora of the neotropical savanna is quite old, while the shrubby-arboreal flora is derived from forests, a hypothesis that implies higher chromosome numbers in the savanna than in the forest. if, however, chromosome numbers are similar in the cerrado and in forests, both could be similarly old, indicating that bi-directional flow of flora occurred in the past. this paper presents data on chromosome numbers and microsporogenesis for 20 species in 13 families collected in the states of s？o paulo, goiás and minas gerais, providing previously unpublished data for myrcia (myrtaceae), luxemburgia (ochnaceae) and hortia (rutaceae). meiosis proved to be normal, indicating regularity in the sexual reproductive process. chromosome numbers varied from 2n = 18 (allamanda angustifolia: apocynaceae) to 2n = ca. 104 (ouratea spectabilis: ochnaceae), being low (20 < 2n < 30) in most of the species. since similar numbers have been observed with forest species, it is not, at the moment, possible to support the hypothesis that cerrado species derived from the surrounding forests. instead, we suggest the possibility of a bi-directional exchange of floristic elements between cerrado and forests during evolutionary time.