‘Veredas’ (palm swamps) are phytophysiognomies of the ‘Cerrado’ biome, where the palm tree
Mauritia flexuosa
Lf. - buriti predominates on the tree layer; this species is considered the key resource for many
animals, that use it as shelter and source of food, and also by the man who uses their leaves and fruits as
raw material and food. Although, they occur in environments protected by the environmental legislation,
human actions have affected the populations of ‘buritis’, by means of the decrease of individuals caused
by deforestation, siltation and drainage of these areas. The objective of this study was to evaluate the
morphometric parameters of fruits and seeds of
Mauritia flexuosa from six different ‘veredas’ at different
conservation stages, located in the Environmental Protection Area of ‘Pandeiros’ River (north of Minas Gerais state). In total, 1,800 fruits and seeds were sampled, they were measured in length, width and thickness
and, after that, they were weighed. To detect differences in morphometric measurements of fruits and seeds
among the sampling areas, the analysis of variance was done. There were differences in morphometric
measurements between the studied areas, in which 87.5% of the highest averages occurred in areas with the
slightest anthropic interventions. This fact is possibly related to the impacts occurred, besides the genetic
variations that may fall upon the individuals.
