Morphological Characterization of Fruits and Seeds from Leucaena greggii S. Watson in Coahuila, Mexico

Abstract

Leucaena greggii is a native and endemic species of northeastern Mexico, distributed in semi-arid ecosystems in the states of Coahuila and Nuevo León. This taxon was recently included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, requiring its protection and ex situ conservation. The study was conducted at the Botanical Garden of Antonio Narro University in Saltillo, Mexico. The objective of this research was to characterize the morphology of the pods and seeds of L. greggii. During the fruiting stage, variables such as height, canopy cover, and stem diameter were recorded for each of the four trees. From each tree, 65 pods were collected, and their length, width, weight, shape, and color were measured. For 100 seeds from each tree, the variables length, width, thickness, weight, shape, and color were also recorded. Descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation analysis at a 5% probability level were performed for each quantified variable in pods and seeds. The results showed that the pods had an average length of 17.92 cm, width of 12.68 mm, and weight of 0.002 kg, with an elongated shape and mustard-brown color (YR 7/8). The seeds measured 9.30 mm in length, 6.84 mm in width, and 1.94 mm in thickness, weighed 0.086 mg, and had an oblong or elongated shape with a dark-brown color (YR 4/6). The number of seeds per kg was 12,155.44. This study found a positive and significant correlation between the length-weight and length-width variables for both seeds and pods.