Variabilité morphologique du baobab (Adansonia digitataL.) au Mali

Abstract

Morphological variability of the baobab tree (Adansonia digitata L.) in Mali. Abstract — Introduction. Baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) is a typical agricultural landscape tree in semi-arid areas of Africa. It is a tree used daily by the local popu- lation. The diversity of its services and products suggests an assessment of its mor- phological variability to achieve a better understanding of its potential. This article seeks to identify morphological descriptors of baobab in relation to the agro-ecolog- ical diversity of Mali. Materials and methods. Eight provenances distributed over the whole geographical distribution area in Mali were evaluated for foliar, fruit and seed traits. The coefficient of variation was used to evaluate the variation. The data was analyzed by variance analysis and multivariate analysis. Results. Significant variability was observed according to the provenance, and the foliar, fruit and seed descriptors. The discriminating morphological descriptors for baobab in Mali are the fruit length and width, the fruit peduncle length, the leaf length and width, and the number of lobes. Mali / Adansonia digitata / fruits / leaves / site factors / production location