Physical characterization of fruits and seeds of delonix regia (bojer ex hook.) raf. (fabaceae – caesalpinoideae)

Flamboyant [Delonix regia (Bojerex Hook.) Raf.] is an exotic forest species highly adapted to the Brazilian edaphoclimatic conditions; thus; it has been widely used in afforestation of parks and streets in all Brazilian regions due to its high ornamental value. Therefore, this work aims to determine the main physical and biometric characteristics of the Delonix regia fruits and seeds and establish correlation estimates among the variables. Ripe fruits of D. regiawere collected in fifteen seed trees, in Cassilândia, MS, Brazil. An total of 100 fruits and 100 seeds were analyzed in terms of longitudinal length, width, thickness, fresh mass of the fruit and the seed, number of seeds per fruit, dry mass of the fruits and seed and water content of the seed. The biometric characteristics were analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis, frequency distribution and Spearman’s correlation analysis (rS). Flamboyant fruits and seeds present variability to most of the characteristics evaluated. Flamboyant seeds presentgreat potential from the number of seeds seedsper fruit, making it possible to select fruits with bigger numbers of seeds seeds through characteristics such as fresh mass of the fruits.