XVI International Botanical Congess

The Bignoniaceae consists of 750 species and approximately 50% occur in Brazil. Distinctions among the tribes are based on habit and morphological characters of the fruit. However, controversy surrounds the utility of fruit characters to delimit genera. In this study data regarding fruit shape, surface ornamentation, textural aspects of the pericarp septum, and degree of development in the seed were recorded. A reexamination of the taxonomic status of several genera was necessary because of generic concepts altered by either synonomy or segregation. Morphologic characterization of 16 types of fruits are proposed. Superficially similar fruit types such as those found in Arrabidaea and Tabebuia or Anemopaegma and Jacaranda were distinguished by the presence of entirely different capsule dehiscence.