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Between August 2003 and August 2005 we registered the flowering and fruiting of 75 tree species (341 individual trees) in a tropical rain forest at Tenosique, Tabasco, Mexico. Monthly we checked five transects (500 m long; 5 m wide). To test the homogeneity of flowering and fruiting during the year, and between adjacent months, we applied a χ² test. The flowering was bimodal, with a highest peak in March and April, coinciding with the dry season, and a second lower peak in July when precipitation is relatively low. The highest number of fruiting tree species occur between May and July, with its peak in May. Each of the most common botanical families showed a particular phenological pattern. Monthly rainfall and the number of species flowering or fruiting were not significantly correlated. This means that trees are flowering and fruiting all year long, with seasonal increases of both phenological phenomena in the dryer periods. We conclude that phenological patterns vary between individuals and between years and are not seasonally correlated. The data we generated are relevant to program the best periods of seed collections according to individual or groups of species, as part of forest management and conservation practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wetland tree species are of importance for economic and restoration purposes. We describe the germination process and seedling morphology of six arboreal native species typical of Southeastern Mexico: Annona glabra, Ceiba pentandra, Pachira aquatica, Haematoxylum campechianum, Coccoloba barbadensis and Crataeva tapia. A total of 300 seeds per species were planted in a mixture of sand, cocoa plant husk and black soil (1: 1: 1), and maintained in a tree nursery with 30% artificial shade, from February to November of 2007. We carried out the morphological characterization, and elaborated a key to seedlings based on: 1) germination type 2) seedling axis and 3) leaf elements. P. aquatica has cryptocotylar hypogeal germination, the others have phanerocotylar epigeal germination. Germination rates were high (>86%), except for C. barbadensis (69%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]