Abstract
The seed coat polymorphism of 50 accessions representing five species of Vigna section Aconitifoliae (subgenus Ceratotropis) was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in order to evaluate the interspecific and intraspecific variations of various morphoanatomical seed traits. Seed shape, hilum structure aril and testa pattern were examined. The seed coat pattern was found to be a significant character for species delimitation. The testa cell size and ornamentation showed distinctive intra- and interspecific variations across the examined species. The results revealed that the wild accessions of V. aconitifolia (I-aco and II-aco), V. indica (I-ind and II-ind), V. stipulacea (I-sti, I-sti, II-sti, III-sti and VI-sti) and V. trilobata (I-tri, II-tri) have different seed coat types. In the present study, only a single seed coat pattern was recorded for the endemic, threatened species V. khandalensis. Finally, the congruency of seed coat patterns optimized onto an rDNA-ITS phylogeny was discussed.
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