The aim of this work was to describe the morphology of the fruit, the seed and the development of the seedling of Jatropha elliptica Müll. Arg. The fruits were collected in September and October (2002), in the Experimental Farm at Universidade Federal Mato Grosso, in Santo Antonio de Leverger-MT. 50 fruits and 50 seeds were utilized to describe the fruit and the seed morphology. For the characterization of the germination stages, four repetitions of 20 seeds were used, sowning upon blot paper, in clear plastic boxes, moisten with giberelic acid (400 ppm), kept in a germination chamber, at 30 ºC and with an eight hours photoperiod, during 45 days. The fruit of J. elliptica is dry, with three cocas, a hard endocarp, and shows an explosive dehiscence. The seed is oval, albuminous, has a smooth testa and a marmoreal color, with a caruncule in the ventral part, a visible hilum in the base and the distinct longitudinal rafe. The germination is epigeous and phanerocotyledonal. The germination average time is from 13 to 25 days. It was possible to describe and to illustrate, in a distinct form, J. elliptica fruit, seed and seedling morphologies, which behaved in a sufficiently homogeneous and trustworthy way for the identification.
germination; Jatropha elliptica; medicinal plants; morphology
