VARIATION IN SEED CHARACTERS OF TERMINALIA CHEBULA RETZ. FROM THE SOUTHERN WESTERN GHATS OF TAMIL NADU

Abstract

Seed is an important aspect of a plant’s life history. The successful regeneration of a plant in its habitat and the ability of the plant to disperse across ecosystems depend upon the seed. The number of seeds produced and the size of the seed are factors which affect the survival of a plant. The size of the seed determines the amount of reserve food available to the developing seedlings. In stressful environments, larger seeds may have a higher establishment rate, as they may provide more reserve food for the seedlings. From the Terminalia chebula populations in the Southern Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu, 100 seeds each were
collected from twelve populations. The seed weight, seed length and seed width were noted individually. The seed characters were noted and compared between the populations. The mean values were also calculated and compared. The inter-population variation was studied with respect to the seed characters of Terminalia chebula.