To understand the morphological diversity and degree of variation in lotus fruits from various sources, 81 dried mature lotus fruits were collected from different locations (including 59 wild populations, 15 cultivated populations, and 7 lotus cultivars) for morphometric measurements and systematic clustering analysis. There was substantial morphological variation among 81 accessions of lotus fruits. The longitudinal diameter ranged from 12.03 mm to 19.58 mm, the transverse diameter varied from 7.93 mm to 15.72 mm, the aspect ratio spanned from 1.01 to 1.97, and single grain weight fluctuated from 0.41 mm to 2.26 g. The morphology of lotus fruits from different sources was different. The average longitudinal diameter, transverse diameter, longitudinal/transverse diameter ratio, and grain weight of American lotus fruits was 13.97 mm, 11.98 mm, 1.17 and 1.13 g, respectively. For wild Asian lotus fruits, the values was 16.52 mm, 10.51 mm, 1.58 and 0.98 g, respectively. For the 15 cultivated Asian lotus populations, the average values was 15.81 mm, 11.18 mm, 1.42 and 1.07 g, respectively. For the 7 fruit lotus varieties, the average values was 16.71 mm, 13.20 mm, 1.27 and 1.53 g, respectively. The correlation analysis showed that the single fruit weight of lotus fruit was positively correlated with the longitudinal diameter and transverse diameter (P<0.05), and negatively correlated with the ratio of transverse diameter (P<0.05), but there were differences among different population sources. There was no significant correlation between longitude and latitude and morphological indexes of lotus fruits. The longitude was positively correlated with the ratio of longitudinal diameter and longitudinal diameter (P<0.01), but negatively correlated with transverse diameter and single grain weight (P<0.01). There was a significant positive correlation between latitude and longitudinal diameter (P<0.05), a very significantly positive correlation between latitude and longitudinal diameter ratio (P<0.01), a significantly negative correlation between latitude and transverse diameter (P<0.05), and a negative correlation between latitude and single grain weight (P<0.05). Systematic cluster analysis showed that 59 populations of wild lotus fruits could be divided into 2-5 branches. All lotus fruits of American lotus and the Chiang Mai population of Thai lotus formed the first cluster, and the remaining Asian lotus formed the second cluster. Morphological traits of lotus fruits varied across the different years of collection. The results would provide scientific basis for lotus resource conservation, auxiliary identification, germplasm innovation and lotus fruit production.
| 科 Family | 属数 Number of genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) | 属 Genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 鹅膏菌科Amanitaceae | 2 | 11 | 5.26 | 鹅膏菌属 Amanita | 10 | 4.78 |
| 小菇科 Mycenaceae | 2 | 12 | 5.74 | 丝盖伞属 Inocybe | 5 | 2.39 |
| 多孔菌科 Polyporaceae | 8 | 14 | 6.70 | 蜡蘑属 Laccaria | 5 | 2.39 |
| 红菇科 Russulaceae | 3 | 23 | 11.00 | 小皮伞属 Marasmius | 6 | 2.87 |
| 小菇属 Mycena | 11 | 5.26 | ||||
| 光柄菇属 Pluteus | 5 | 2.39 | ||||
| 红菇属 Russula | 17 | 8.13 | ||||
| 栓菌属 Trametes | 5 | 2.39 |