Abstract

AMARO, Manoel Silva; MEDEIROS FILHO, Sebastião; GUIMARAES, Renato Mendes  and  TEOFILO, Elizita Maria. Morphology of janaguba fruit, seed and seedling (Himatanthus drasticus (Mart.) Plumel. - Apocynaceae). Rev. bras. sementes [online]. 2006, vol.28, n.1, pp. 63-71. ISSN 0101-3122.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0101-31222006000100009.

The objectives of this study were to describe and illustrate the morphological aspects of janaguba (Himatanthus drasticus (Mart.) Plumel.) fruit, seed and seedlings. All the experiments were conducted at the Laboratory of Seed Analysis of the Federal University of Ceará. The following characteristics were studied in janaguba fruits: type, dehiscence, dimension, consistency and coloration of the epicarp, mesocarp, endocarp and placenta. In janaguba seeds the characteristics studied were dimension, colour, texture, consistency of the tegument, shape, edges, hilum, micropyle and rafe positions, embryo, cotyledons, hypocotyl-radicle axes, and plumule. The janaguba seedling root system, hypocotyls, epicotyls, and first leaves were evaluated. Ruler and pachimeter were used to take the measurements, as well as optical microscope and magnifying glass. The janaguba fruit is full of seeds (42 seeds in average), winged; seeds are the albumin type and present epigeous germination.

Keywords : tree species; emergency; cotyledons; morphological aspects.