Discriminant analysis of “Jinzaoshi” from persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb.; Ebenaceae): A comparative study conducted based on morphological as well as ITS and matK sequence analyses

Abstract

“Jinzaoshi”, a persimmon-like tree mainly distributed in the southern part of Zhejiang Province (China), has long been accepted as a cultivar of Diospyros kaki Thunb., even though it remarkably differs from other cultivars or varieties. In this study, the key aspects of plant morphology and sequence variation in the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and maturase K (matK) gene of “Jinzaoshi” were compared with those of D. kaki and other related species to discriminate them. “Jinzaoshi” was morphologically distinguishable from the other Diospyros species on the basis of the features such as the presence of glandular hair on immature branchlets and leaves, joined styles, glabrous corolla ribs, pellicle-covered branches, and black glabrous winter buds. The DNA sequence analysis suggested that the variations between “Jinzaoshi” and the other Diospyros species were larger than the maximum intra-specific and minimum inter-specific genetic distances of the investigated species. A phylogenetic analysis showed that “Jinzaoshi” did not cluster uniformly with the other species. Therefore, we propose that “Jinzaoshi” does not belong to D. kaki and other related Diospyros species and might be a new species of Diospyros L. (Ebenaceae).