A pollen atlas of premontane woody and herbaceous communities from the upland savannas of Guayana, Venezuela

Abstract

Descriptions and photomicrographs of pollen grains from 245 angiosperm species commonly found in contemporary plant communities of the upland savannas of Guayana, Venezuela are presented. Most of the species are frequent in woody communities as shrublands, evergreen montane and gallery forest of the premontane altitudinal belt (400–1800 m above sea level). In contrast with previous contributions which emphasised species from highland and/or flooded environments, most species considered here grow on lowland to upland well-drained soils. The high numbers of taxa considered herein means that the utility of this contribution transcends palaeoecology and impinges on, for example, reproductive biology, forensic palynology, aerobiology and melissopalynology in Guayana and the wider Neotropical realm.