BIOMETRY OF FRUITS AND SEEDS OF Hancornia speciosa Gomes (APOCYNACEAE) IN NATURAL POPULATIONS

This study aimed verify the physical characteristics of the fruits and seeds of Hancornia speciosa in natural populations of the State of Rio Grande do Norte (RN), Brazil. The data were collected in two municipalities of the RN, Macaíba and Nísia Floresta. For the biometrics (n = 86 fruits and 381 seeds), fresh weight (g), length (mm) and diameter (mm) were evaluated for fruits and seeds, seed number, seed thickness (mm), yield of the pulp (%). The biometrics data were analyzed through descriptive statistics (position and dispersion measurements). Finally, the t test was applied in order to detect differences between the averages of the biometric variables of this study and of other natural populations described in the literature. The pulp contributes on average 93.56% of the total fresh fruit mass, demonstrating high yield in the studied populations. In the comparison between the populations, it was verified that the variations in the characteristics of the mangabeira fruits are probably influenced by environmental and genetic factors, which should also be correlated in future works.