Morphological characterization of fruits and seeds of Jatropha mollissima (Pohl) Baill. (Magnoliopsida: Euphorbiaceae)

Jatropha mollissima (Pohl) Baill. is a native plant of the Brazilian semiarid that belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family. It is a widely distributed monoecious occurring in all states of Northeast Brazil, except Maranhao, and inhabiting areas of caatinga and restinga. In order to add information about this species as well as to facilitate their identification, this study aimed to determine the biometrics, to describe and illustrate the internal and external structures of the seed and the fruit, and to determine the chemical composition of J. mollissima seed. It was observed that the fruit is dry, smooth, and capsular, with average length of 2.31 cm, width of 2.06 cm, and thickness of 2.01 cm, respectively. The seed is eurispermic, oval, dorsum convex, flat wrap, with caruncle, and its average length, width, and tickeness are 1.27 cm, 0.84 cm, and 0.66 cm, respectively. The cytochemical and chemical analyses revelead marked lipid (35%) and protein (19.87%) contents in the seeds of this species.