Morphological characterization of fruits, seeds and seedlings of araticum plant (Annona crassiflora Mart - Annonaceae)

Araticum (Annona crassiflora Mart. - Annonaceae) is a species with great ecological importance and potential for fruit production. Its fruits, seeds and seedlings were morphologically described in this article as being the main objective of this study. To describe and illustrate the examples, 100 seeds and 42 fruits were analyzed; the latter being collected in Santo Antônio do Leverger - MT - Brazil, in 2011. To describe the morphology of the seedling, 100 seeds were germinated in two different environments. The araticum plant has a compound, multiple strobiliform, globose-subglobose and fleshy fruit, with average measures of 12.9 cm length, 13.5 cm width, 12.7 cm thickness, weight of 1,187.0 g and 99.2 seeds per fruit. The seeds are obovoid, hairless, smooth with a bony aspect and a pale brown color; they have an average of 17. 7 mm length, 10.8 mm width and 8.3 thickness. Epigeous and phanerocotylar germination begins about 148 days after sowing. All morphological data of araticum fruits, seeds and seedlings can be used to recognize the botanical family and, when associated to other features, to recognize the species in the field