Biometry of fruits and seeds Operculina macrocarpa (L.) Urban occurring in the semiarid region of Rio Grande do Norte

Abstract

Operculina macrocarpa (L.) Urban is a biennial species, with great pharmacological potential and very common in the Northeast of Brazil, whose popular name is potato-to-drain or jalapa. Its tuberous roots, large, starchy and milky are sold for medicinal purposes. Biometrics fruit and seeds provides information for the conservation and exploitation of species, variability among individuals in a given area and allows comparisons of the same species occurring in different geographic locations. Thus the objective was to biometrically characterize fruits and seeds of O. macrocarpa, occurring in semi-arid region of Rio Grande do Norte. For this 200 fruits were randomly selected and equal number of seeds, which were measured with the aid of a digital caliper (0.01 mm), determining the length and diameter of fruits and seeds. For the diameter of the fruits of O. macrocarpa was found significant variations, whereas for the seeds to a wider range of variation was observed for the length.