Morphological Characterization in Germplasm of Genipa americana L.

The Genipap tree is a tropical fruit tree common in Brazil. The tree is indigenous to South America and grows in the wild and also in small orchards. With the desire to preserve the genetic resources of the species, germplasm was collected in 2009 and is maintained at the Germplasm Bank of Genipap (BG Genipap) in the Embrapa Coastal Tablelands. The BG is located in Nossa Senhora das Dores, Sergipe, Brazil (10°29’30"S, 37°11’36"W, altitude 204 m). The plants were collected randomly from natural populations in several Brazilian states. There are  227 individuals representing represent 24 accessions, which were evaluated by survival rate, total height, and circumference; diameter at branch height and branch girth; shape and edges of leaves, bristle and the color of the leaves. length and width of leaves; and length and edge type of the the peciolate. In 13 of the 24 accessions, the survival rate was 100%, and varied between 80% to 100% of the remaining accessions. The average height was 2.10 m. The medium of the diameter of the plants varied from 1.94 to 5.96 cm. The average of the girth diameter was 2.85 cm. The majority of the leaves are lanceolate (48%) or oblong (35%). However, at BA accession, the leaves are all lobed because they are from the species G. infundibuliformis Zappir & Semir. The color of the leaves of this species is dark green when mature, and average 29.69 cm in length and 11.10 cm in width. The morphologic charactarization indicate variability between and inside the accessions. Evaluations will continue every 6 months, with the ultimate goal of selecting individuals with interesting characteristics, such as survival and height, to ensure the conservation, maintenance, and development of the species.