Background: There were reports that M. pruriens was edible and natural source of Levodopa used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, but the identity of the variety used for the treatment is uncertain. Hence, the present study is important to provide their diagnostic characters for further studies by prospective researchers. Methods: The qualitative study was carried out by observing and recording the features of the taxa while the quantitative was obtained as the leaflet length and width were measured using a metre rule. From each specimen, leaves were randomly selected and measured using metre rule. Standard methods were used in this study.
Result: The three taxa possess trifoliate leaves in common and the flower colours are as follows: Yellow in M. flagellipes, purple in M. puriens var. pruriens and white in M. pruriens var. utilis. Testa colours are black, black and white in the M. flagellipes, M. pruriens var. pruriens and M. pruriens var. utilis, respectively. The highest average leaflet length was 17.5 recorded in M. pruriens var. pruriens while the lowest average leaflet length of 8.4 was recorded in M. pruriens var. utilis. The three taxa could be eaten based on review. Petal and testa colour could be used to distinguish the taxa studied.
Seeds are highly important part of living things, without which life would not exist. All of our daily necessities are totally dependent on seed and seed stock, like food and fruits, so also is many of the natural resources that we use as consumers such as, timber, cotton, paper, essential\edible oils, all which started their live as seeds. Basically, a seed consists of a tiny underdeveloped plant, the embryo, which is enclosed by a covering called the seed coat. Germination of seed occurs when the embryo grows into a functioning plant. It involves the rejuvenation of the metabolic pathways that lead to growth and the emergence of the radicle (root) and plumule (shoot). For germination to occur, three basic factors must exist, the seed must be viable, dormancy must be controlled and the proper environmental conditions for germination must be available. Dormancy simply means the inability of seeds to germinate even when the necessary environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, oxygen, and light) are favorable for germination. Dormancy is a principal factor restricting the production of crops. Several physical and chemical pretreatments can be applied to the organic material (seeds) to control dormancy. This review discusses the conditions necessary for germination and the fundamental factors necessary for breaking dormancy.
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