<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The <italic>Euphorbia resinifera</italic> is melliferous and medicinal plant and one of the endemic species of Moroccan Atlas Mountains. It is very well known for its honey of high nutritional and therapeutic quality. The objective of our study is to characterize and evaluate the phenotypic variation of this spontaneous species. Seventeen qualitative and quantitative morphological characters related to the bush, stem, spine, flower, and fruit of the plant were used to assess the morphological variability of twelve natural populations collected from its geographical range in Morocco. The results of the analysis of variance showed significant differences between the studied populations for the most examined traits reflecting the existence of a high phenotypic variability within this species. The principal component analysis showed that <italic>E. resinifera</italic> populations were clustered in three distinct groups not related to mountain range type. The results highlight a high phenotypic diversity within studied populations of this species in Morocco. This work aims to study the phenotypic variability of <italic>E. resinifera</italic> to delineate conservation strategies and also to establish forms of rational economic exploitation.</p>
</abstract>

The Euphorbia resinifera is melliferous and medicinal plant and one of the endemic species of Moroccan Atlas Mountains. It is very well known for its honey of high nutritional and therapeutic quality. The objective of our study is to characterize and evaluate the phenotypic variation of this spontaneous species. Seventeen qualitative and quantitative morphological characters related to the bush, stem, spine, flower, and fruit of the plant were used to assess the morphological variability of twelve natural populations collected from its geographical range in Morocco. The results of the analysis of variance showed significant differences between the studied populations for the most examined traits reflecting the existence of a high phenotypic variability within this species. The principal component analysis showed that E. resinifera populations were clustered in three distinct groups not related to mountain range type. The results highlight a high phenotypic diversity within studied populations of this species in Morocco. This work aims to study the phenotypic variability of E. resinifera to delineate conservation strategies and also to establish forms of rational economic exploitation.

Phenotypic diversity of natural populations of an endemic Moroccan plant (<italic>Euphorbia resinifera</italic> O. Berg)

Laboratory of agro-industrial and medical Biotechnologies, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques

Hacquetia

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Phenotypic diversity of natural populations of an endemic Moroccan plant ( O. Berg)

The Euphorbia resinifera is melliferous and medicinal plant and one of the endemic species of Moroccan Atlas Mountains. It is very well known for its honey of...

Phenotypic diversity of natural populations of an endemic Moroccan plant (Euphorbia resinifera O. Berg)

Published Online: Feb 07, 2023

Page range: 81 - 90

Received: Feb 09, 2021

Accepted: Dec 11, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/hacq-2022-0015

Keywords
Endemic plant, Morocco, Morphological variability

© 2022 Hassane Abd-dada et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Phenotypic diversity of natural populations of an endemic Moroccan plant (Euphorbia resinifera O. Berg)

Published Online: Feb 07, 2023

Page range: 81 - 90

Received: Feb 09, 2021

Accepted: Dec 11, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/hacq-2022-0015

KeywordsEndemic plant, Morocco, Morphological variability

© 2022 Hassane Abd-dada et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Endemic plant, Morocco, Morphological variability