MORFOMETRIA DE FRUTOS E SEMENTES DE (Manihot pseudoglaziovii Pax & K. Hoffman) – EUFORBIACEAE

Abstract

The genus Manihot consists of a large number of species whose origin is in the New World, so that in Brazil and Mexico they form distinct centers of diversity. Tree species of Manihot occur exclusively in the Northeast Region and, like the herbaceous ones in the Midwest, have weak barriers to reproductive isolation, which has led to extensive natural hybridization, making taxonomy and delineation of these species difficult. The research was conducted at the Department of Agrarian and Exact Sciences of the State University of Paraíba, in Catolé do Rocha – PB, with the objective of morphometrically describing fruits and seeds of Manihot pseudoglaziovii Pax & K. Hoffman in order to establish parameters for identification and differentiation of the species under field conditions. For the morphological description of fruits and seeds, 100 randomly selected units were used. Maniçoba (Manihot pseudoglaziovii Pax & K. Hoffman.) belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family, with dry, capsular fruit that separates into three unilocular coconuts, arranged longitudinally, with explosive dehiscence. The endocarp is dry and lignified. The fruit color at the beginning of physiological maturity is greenish and when ripe it is brown, with a rough surface, still presenting five sutures. The fruit has an average length of 17.98 mm, width of 20.84 mm, and weight of 3.54 g. The seeds have a glabrous surface, oval-shaped, rigid and shiny tegument with color ranging from light brown to dark with small dark spots on the dorsal and ventral faces. It also presents a very similar hypocotyl, raphe, and caruncle to those of castor bean. The seeds have an average length of 13.52 mm, width of 10.61 mm, thickness of 7.11 mm, and unit weight of 0.523 mg. The fruits and seeds of Manihot pseudoglaziovii Pax & K. Hoffman. showed homogeneity for the evaluated morphometric characteristics, except for fruit weight.