Fruiting character variability in wild individuals of Malania oleifera, a highly valued endemic species

Abstract

Malania oleifera (Olacaceae), a tree species endemic to Southwest China, has seed oils enriched with nervonic acid and is therefore good source of this chemical. Because of this, there are promising industrial perspective in the artificial cultivation and use of this species. Understanding the variability in the fruit characters among individuals forms the basis or resource prospection. In the current investigation, fifty-three mature fruiting trees were sampled from two locations with divergent climates (Guangnan and Funing). Morphological characterization of fruits (fruit and stone weight, fruit transverse and longitudinal diameter, stone transverse and longitudinal diameter) was conducted, and the concentration of seed oil and its fatty acid composition were also analyzed in all individuals. Differences in all the morphological characters studied were more significant among individual trees than between different geographic localities, even though these had different climates. Eleven fatty acids were identified contributing between 91.39 and 96.34% of the lipids, and the major components were nervonic acid (38.93–47.24%), octadecenoic acid (26.79–32.08%), docosenoic acid (10.94–17.24%). The seed oil content (proportion of oil in seed kernel) and the proportion of nervonic acid were both higher in Funing, which has a higher average climatic temperature than Guangnan. The concentrations of nervonic acid and octadecenoic acid with the low coefficients of variation in the seed oil of M. oleifera were relatively stable in contrast to the other fatty acids. There were significant positive correlations between fruit morphological characters, but the amount of seed oil and the concentrations of its components were not correlated with any morphological character. This study provides an understanding of morphological variation in wild M. oleifera individuals. Wild individuals with excellent fruit traits could be selected and would make promising candidates for commercial cultivation.

Individual Tree AGB Estimation of Malania oleifera Based on UAV-RGB Imagery and Mask R-CNN

“…In terms of ecological and geographic distribution patterns, both prefer to grow in areas with abundant rainfall, a warm climate, and fertile soil. M. oleifera is mainly distributed in southern provinces such as Yunnan and Guangxi, while Cinnamomum camphora is widely distributed in southern China and Southeast Asia [7,51]. In summary, the M. oleifera and Cinnamomum camphora have similarities in morphological characteristics, ecological environment, geographical distribution, and growth habits.…”

“…Biomass estimation is critical for monitoring plant growth and yield; however, aboveground biomass (AGB) estimation for M. oleifera has not been reported in the existing literature. Previous studies on M. oleifera have focused on plant cultivation, pests, diseases, oil extraction [3,6,7], extraction and isolation of volatile oil [7], and genome analysis [2,4], while its AGB estimation has not been reported yet.…”