Agradecimentos: We thank the Instituto Florestal for the permit to study pollination biology of Leguminosae in protected public lands; Adriano Kid Azambuja and Rubem Samuel de Ávila Jr., for help in the field; Iara Bressan for technical help in the laboratory; Maria Cristina Gaglianone for identifying the Centridini bees. MP had a grant from FAPESP, and VLGB and MS have research grants from CNPq. This research was mainly supported by FAPESP as part of the Thematic Project Functional Gradient (Process 03/12595-7) Ver menos

This study describes the floral phenology and morphology, reproductive biology and pollinators for eight legume tree species, Schizolobium parahyba, Senna macranthera, and Senna multijuga (Caesalpinioideae), as well as Andira fraxinrfolia, Lonchocarpus cultratus, Pterocarpus violaceus, Swartzia oblata, and S. simplex (Papilionoideae), in the Atlantic Forest in Southeast Brazil. All the studied species showed an annual flowering pattern, and almost all are of the cornucopia-flowering type, with the only exception being Swartzia oblata, which was of the steady-state type. In general, the legume flowers studied are conspicuous, mostly medium-sized, and offer nectar and/or pollen as a resource. Self-incompatibility associated with the production of many flowers and consequent pollen discounting due to self-pollination may contribute to low fruit set of these species in natural conditions. Fifty bee species were recorded visiting the flowers, with medium to large-sized Apidae bees, such as Bombus mono, and species of Xylocopa, Centridini and Euglossina, which were among the most frequent visitors and major pollinators. These bees showed high floral constancy, thus they are significant to the reproductive success of these tree species. This study provides information regarding the interactions between bees and these eight legume species and evaluates the importance of pollinators for their sexual reproduction Ver menos