Taxonomical implications of fruit and seed morphology in wild species of Diospyros L. (Ebenaceae) in Odisha, Eastern India
The family Ebenaceae exhibits a diverse array of characteristics and evolutionary histories. The members of the genus Diospyros L. are mostly dioecious and exhibit a great variation in their leaf, flower, fruit and seed morphology. These morphological variations often lead to ambiguity in species d...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
University of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani)
2025-08-01
|
| Series: | Acta Biologica Slovenica |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.uni-lj.si/abs/article/view/22558 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849221881864912896 |
|---|---|
| author | Sabita Tudu Jeevan Kumar Jena Sifan Priyadarshini Dr. Sudhansu Sekhar Dash Dr. Sudam Charan Sahu |
| author_facet | Sabita Tudu Jeevan Kumar Jena Sifan Priyadarshini Dr. Sudhansu Sekhar Dash Dr. Sudam Charan Sahu |
| author_sort | Sabita Tudu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
The family Ebenaceae exhibits a diverse array of characteristics and evolutionary histories. The members of the genus Diospyros L. are mostly dioecious and exhibit a great variation in their leaf, flower, fruit and seed morphology. These morphological variations often lead to ambiguity in species delimitation and misidentification in the genus Diospyros. As a pilot study, a detailed morphological and morphometric assessment was carried out in ten species of Diospyros growing wild in Odisha, Eastern India. Twenty (20) taxonomically important morphological characters of fruits and seeds were selected to study the similarity and variations among the taxa. The phenetic clustering divided the studied taxa of Diospyros into three groups at a cophenetic correlation coefficient (r) of 0.89, which provided insights into species differentiation and their closest taxonomic relationship. Moreover, the principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that the length of the calyx lobe and the size of the seed were significant in explaining the total variation among the studied taxa. The study came up with a dichotomous key and revealed the distinct morphological characters of fruits and seeds, contributing to a refined understanding of the Diospyros species complex. To clarify the taxonomic ambiguity, fruit and seed morphological characteristics provide an important tool for accurate species identification and enriching our understanding of the systematics of these specific Ebenaceae members.
|
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-65cebb5bc0404b2d9ae8cdcbd2a83cd6 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1854-3073 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | University of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Acta Biologica Slovenica |
| spelling | doaj-art-65cebb5bc0404b2d9ae8cdcbd2a83cd62025-08-26T11:17:51ZengUniversity of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani)Acta Biologica Slovenica1854-30732025-08-0168410.14720/abs.68.4.22558Taxonomical implications of fruit and seed morphology in wild species of Diospyros L. (Ebenaceae) in Odisha, Eastern IndiaSabita Tudu0Jeevan Kumar Jena1Sifan Priyadarshini2Dr. Sudhansu Sekhar Dash3Dr. Sudam Charan Sahu4Biosystematics Laboratory, Department of Botany, Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University, Baripada-757003, Odisha, India Biosystematics Laboratory, Department of Botany, Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University, Baripada-757003, Odisha, India Biosystematics Laboratory, Department of Botany, Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University, Baripada-757003, Odisha, India Botanical Survey of India, CGO Complex, Sector -1, Salt Lake, Kolkata, West Bengal, IndiaBiosystematics Laboratory, Department of Botany, Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University, Baripada-757003, Odisha, India The family Ebenaceae exhibits a diverse array of characteristics and evolutionary histories. The members of the genus Diospyros L. are mostly dioecious and exhibit a great variation in their leaf, flower, fruit and seed morphology. These morphological variations often lead to ambiguity in species delimitation and misidentification in the genus Diospyros. As a pilot study, a detailed morphological and morphometric assessment was carried out in ten species of Diospyros growing wild in Odisha, Eastern India. Twenty (20) taxonomically important morphological characters of fruits and seeds were selected to study the similarity and variations among the taxa. The phenetic clustering divided the studied taxa of Diospyros into three groups at a cophenetic correlation coefficient (r) of 0.89, which provided insights into species differentiation and their closest taxonomic relationship. Moreover, the principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that the length of the calyx lobe and the size of the seed were significant in explaining the total variation among the studied taxa. The study came up with a dichotomous key and revealed the distinct morphological characters of fruits and seeds, contributing to a refined understanding of the Diospyros species complex. To clarify the taxonomic ambiguity, fruit and seed morphological characteristics provide an important tool for accurate species identification and enriching our understanding of the systematics of these specific Ebenaceae members. https://journals.uni-lj.si/abs/article/view/22558Diospyros L.Ebenaceaemorphologyphenetic clusteringPrincipal Component Analysis (PCA)Odisha |
| spellingShingle | Sabita Tudu Jeevan Kumar Jena Sifan Priyadarshini Dr. Sudhansu Sekhar Dash Dr. Sudam Charan Sahu Taxonomical implications of fruit and seed morphology in wild species of Diospyros L. (Ebenaceae) in Odisha, Eastern India Acta Biologica Slovenica Diospyros L. Ebenaceae morphology phenetic clustering Principal Component Analysis (PCA) Odisha |
| title | Taxonomical implications of fruit and seed morphology in wild species of Diospyros L. (Ebenaceae) in Odisha, Eastern India |
| title_full | Taxonomical implications of fruit and seed morphology in wild species of Diospyros L. (Ebenaceae) in Odisha, Eastern India |
| title_fullStr | Taxonomical implications of fruit and seed morphology in wild species of Diospyros L. (Ebenaceae) in Odisha, Eastern India |
| title_full_unstemmed | Taxonomical implications of fruit and seed morphology in wild species of Diospyros L. (Ebenaceae) in Odisha, Eastern India |
| title_short | Taxonomical implications of fruit and seed morphology in wild species of Diospyros L. (Ebenaceae) in Odisha, Eastern India |
| title_sort | taxonomical implications of fruit and seed morphology in wild species of diospyros l ebenaceae in odisha eastern india |
| topic | Diospyros L. Ebenaceae morphology phenetic clustering Principal Component Analysis (PCA) Odisha |
| url | https://journals.uni-lj.si/abs/article/view/22558 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sabitatudu taxonomicalimplicationsoffruitandseedmorphologyinwildspeciesofdiospyroslebenaceaeinodishaeasternindia AT jeevankumarjena taxonomicalimplicationsoffruitandseedmorphologyinwildspeciesofdiospyroslebenaceaeinodishaeasternindia AT sifanpriyadarshini taxonomicalimplicationsoffruitandseedmorphologyinwildspeciesofdiospyroslebenaceaeinodishaeasternindia AT drsudhansusekhardash taxonomicalimplicationsoffruitandseedmorphologyinwildspeciesofdiospyroslebenaceaeinodishaeasternindia AT drsudamcharansahu taxonomicalimplicationsoffruitandseedmorphologyinwildspeciesofdiospyroslebenaceaeinodishaeasternindia |