Phenotipic diversity and biometry of fruit and seeds of a natural population of Cenostigma macrophyllum Tul.

Phenotipic diversity and biometry of fruit and seeds of a natural population of Cenostigma macrophyllum Tul. The aim of this study was to characterize and estimate the phenotipic diversity of Cenostigma macrophyllum in a natural population in the state of Piaui (PI), Brazil, from the physical characteristics of the fruit and seeds. The data were collected in the municipality of Floriano, PI. The following variables were evaluated in biometry: fruit length (mm), fruit width (mm), fruit weight (g), number of seeds per sample fruit, seed length (mm), seed width (mm), and seed thickness (mm). The biometric data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, and deviations from normality of the data were confirmed by the Lilliefors test for use of the Spearman non-parametric correlation. The phenotipic divergence observed among the individuals was based on cluster analyses (Tocher and UPGMA) and principal components. According to principal components and the dendrogram, individuals 3 and 11 have the greatest dissimilarity. The variables related to the fruit (length, width, and weight) had significant positive correlation, and these variables were the ones that most contributed to intraspecific variation. The results obtained were relevant because they will assist studies related to pre-breeding and conservation of the species.