From Seed to Young Plant: A Study on Germination and Morphological Characteristics of Crateva tapia L. (Capparaceae)

<i>Crateva tapia</i> L. is a native tree species of the Caatinga biome, with medicinal and allelopathic properties. This study aimed to characterize the biometric and morphological traits of fruits, seeds, seedlings, and young plants of <i>C. tapia</i>, as well as to evaluate the germination pattern of its seeds under different temperatures, in order to understand the reproductive strategies and optimal conditions for its propagation. The results are intended to support conservation efforts, ecological restoration, and the sustainable use of the species within the Caatinga biome. The research was carried out at the Seed Analysis Laboratory of the Federal University of Paraíba, Campus II, Areia-PB, Brazil. The biometric data were obtained from 100 fruits and 100 seeds obtained from eight mother plants. The imbibition curve was determined from the weight of the seeds during 216 h at different temperatures, and the germination test was performed concomitantly. The fruits were morphologically described regarding the external and internal aspects of the pericarp. The seeds were described according to their consistency, color, texture, shape, hilum, and embryo. The fruits of <i>C. tapia</i> vary in size, fresh mass, and number of seeds, characterized as amphisarcidium, indehiscent, and polyspermic. The seeds are small, brown, reniform, and biting, with a cotyledonary embryo with a poorly differentiated hypocotyl-radicle axis, with a well-developed hilum and surrounded by a fleshy mesocarp. The germination of <i>C. tapia</i> seeds is epigeal-phanerocotyledonous; the seedlings have white axial roots containing absorbent hairs.