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The acerola (Malpighia emarginata Sessé y Mociño ex DC) is a wild plant grown in zones of tropical and subtropical climate. Acerola is origin from South of Mexico, Central America and Septentrional area of South America. Its scientific name was adopted in 1986 by the International Council of Vegetable Genetic Resources. Malpighia emarginata has a subglobulose drupa fruit with three seeds which account between the 19 - 25% of the total weight. The diameter and weight of the fruit varies between 1 - 4 cm and 2 - 15 g, respectively. The fruit shows green color when it is developing, which changes to yellow and red tones when it is mature. Each plant produces annually 20 - 30 kg of fruits. This fruit contents macro and micronutrients: proteins (0.21-0.80 g/100 g), fats (0.23-0.80 g/100 g), carbohydrates (3.6-7.80 g/100 g), mineral salts (iron 0.24, calcium 11.7, phosphorus 17.1 mg/100 g) and vitamins (thiamine 0.02, riboflavine 0.07, piridoxine 8.7 mg/100 g). Its high content in vitamin C (695 a 4827 mg/100 g) is remarkable, therefore acerola has an increasing economic value by its great consume during last years. Acerola also presents carotenoids and bioflavonoids which provide important nutritive value and its potential use as antioxidant. Brazil has a climate and soil appropriate for the culture of acerola, thus this country is the main mundial productor. Acerola is commercialised as juices, jams, ices, gelatins, sweets or liquors. Bibliographical data have been mainly supplied by Electronic Resources of the University of Seville and the University do Vale do Itajaí (Santa Catarina, Brazil).

Flowers, fruits, seeds and subterranean organ of Piper amalago var. medium Linnaeus were analyzed structurally. Flowers are hermaphrodite lacking perianth, with two stamens and a tricarpelate gynoecea. Tetrasporangiate anthers shows epidermis, endothecium, one or two middle layers and secretory tapetum. Ovary has a simple structure, with ventral meristem. There is one orthotropous, bitegmic and crassinucellate ovule. Fruits are drupes. Seeds are endotegmic with copious perisperm. Putamen is composed of a sclerified inner mesocarp and endocarp. Individuals of the species can be interlinked by radicular subterranean organ, that can spread vegetatively.

Reproductive phenology of 51 plant species was evaluated according to life form and vegetation types in a coastal plain of the Paraguaná Peninsula, Estado Falcón, Venezuela. Plant species distribution according to three vegetation types (herbaceous littoral, herbaceous psamophil, and mangrove area) was determined. Life form frequency was different according to vegetation type. Herbaceous littoral and herbaceous psamophil vegetation were dominated by herbaceous species; woody species were mostly frequent in the mangrove vegetation. Phenological data revealed that 14 (27.5%) plant species flower and fruit year-round; 23 (45.1%) plant species flower and fruit at the beginning of the wet season; seven (13.7%) plant species flower at the end of wet season, and seven (13.7%) more flower at the beginning of the dry season. Flowsring and fruiting phenology showed similar frequency distribution during the year; reproductive phenology was independent of life forms. Flowering and fruiting peaks occurred during the rainy season and the beginning of the dry season for trees and perennial herbs, and from one to three months later for shrubs and annual herbs. The lowest proportion of flowering and fruiting occurred before rain increase for all life forms. Flowering and fruiting phenologies were similar for the three vegetation types evaluated: flowering peak occurred during the lowest value of precipitation, three to four months after precipitation peak, and fruiting peak occurred four months later from the precipitation peak. These results suggest that flowering and fruiting phenology were not affected by life form and vegetation types. The peaks of flowering and fruiting during the lowest values of precipitation may be considered as a slow and late response to the precipitation maximum, and to the proximity between maximum and minimum of precipitation.

We examined if seed abortion in Guanacaste free fruits (Enterolobium cyclocarpum) is related to position within fruits, by establishing the abortion ratio in 150 fruits from 10 trees, collected in Santa Rosa National Park (Guanacaste, Costa Rica). Fruits were divided in basal, central and distal sections. We found marginal differences in abortion ratio between these sections (Anova, p = 0.058), and also among trees (p = 0.01). In general, the distal section had the greatest abortion ratio in relation to other sections. This abortion pattern could be caused by resource competition within siblings and not by genetic differences among them.

T. bicolor grows wild in certain regions of Guatemala. The fruit is utilized by the rural population for the preparation of drinks from the pulp and the seed, replacing cocoa (T. cocoa). The fruit of T. bicolor used in the present study, measured on the average, 15 cm long and had an average weight, of 752 g. The pulp, the shell, and the seed represented 23.8, 62.5, and 13.7%, respectively, of the fruit weight. The pulp contained on the average, 38 seeds/fruit, which weighted on the average, 1.11 g and were 2.4 cm long. T. cacao seeds weighted 0.62 g and were 1.6 cm long. The protein content (24.42%) and fiber content (30.86%) of the T. bicolor seeds, was greater than those from T. cacao, although fat content was lower (25.48%). The fat of the seeds of T. bicolor has different physicochemical characteristics than the fat of the seeds of T. cacao, such as melting point, iodine value, and saponification number. The seeds of both, T. cacao and T. bicolor, were used for the preparation of a local drink using toasted corn flour, sugar, and anatto flour in equal preparations, with and without toasted whole soybean flours (6.25%). Through a sensory ranking trial, it is established that the drink from T. bicolor and soybeans, was preferred over other preparations with T. cacao. The pulp of T. bicolor with an interesting chemical composition, yielded an aromatic pleasant drink, and from T. bicolor, is an interesting resource for industrialization and for genetic characteristics for T. cacao improvement.