Morphology of fruits, seeds and seedlings of Jatropha curcas

Abstract

Abstract

This research aims to generate information on morphology of the Jatropha curcas L. - Euphorbiaceae fruits, seeds and seedlings, in order to assist the species identification, as well as to understand its germination process and beginning of its biologic cycle. We determined weight and relative humidity of one thousand seeds, while 50 fruits and 50 seeds were used for description and illustration. For seedling description and illustration, we put 120 seeds in germination. The humidity level of  Jatropha curcas seeds used in this work was 7,0% and the weight of one thousand seeds was 663,9 g. Fruits are dry, simple, characterized by dehiscence, schizocarpic, averaging 2,82±0,18 cm in length and 2,15±0,12 cm in diameter, always containing three seeds. Seeds average dimension is 1,75±0,06 cm in length, 1,09±0,05 cm in width and 0,87±0,05 cm in thickness, they have ovoid shape, black color with yellowish stripes, spoon shaped embryo with membranous rounded ovoid cotyledons. Germination began within three and four days and ended eleven days after sowing in vermiculite substrate, with 90% of seedlings presenting normal epigeous and fanerocotiledonar development.

Keywords: Biofuel; Euphorbiaceae; Jatropha curcas.