Studies of biometrical characteristics of fruits and seeds are important to understand the variability of native species. In spite of the ecological and economical importance of Talisia esculenta, the biometrical characteristics of fruits and information about seedling emergence are unknown. The aim of this paper was to characterize fruits and seeds biometrically and to determine the effects of storage on seedling emergence. The biometry of 260 fruits and seeds was analyzed. The seedling emergence of newly-collected seeds and after 15, 30, and 60 days of storage was evaluated. The means for the fruits fresh mass, length, and diameter were, respectively, 15.02 g, 32.59 mm, and 26.33 mm and for the seeds 4.49 g, 25.08 mm, and 13.62 mm. The fresh mass of the fruit was proportional to the pulp amount (rS = 0.826; P < 0.05). These values indicated the potential for the selection and genetic improvement of the species. The seedling emergence of newly-collected seeds was 88%. The seeds of Talisia esculenta have a short viability period, with absence of germination at 30 and 60 days of storage.
Conservation; longevity; pitombeira; recalcitrant
