THE VARIABILITY OF PECULIARITIES OF SAMARAS AND SEEDS BELONGING TO DIFFERENT GENOTYPES OF FRAXINUS EXCELSIOR (L.)

Genus Fraxinus are the true ashes and are in Oleaceae, the olive family, along with olives and lilacs. The seeds, popularly known as keys are a type of fruit known as a samara. A samara is a type of fruit in which a flattened wing of fibrous, papery tissue develops from the ovary wall. A samara is a simple dry fruit and indehiscent (not opening along a seam). There were studied the main peculiarities of fruits: (length-cm, width-cm and weight-mg) and of seeds (length-cm, width-cm and weight-mg, and the thickness-mm) number of seeds. The fruits length had different values in each seven genotypes of Fraxinus excelsior, obtaining amplitude of variation between 3.30 cm (Valiug) and 4.67 cm (Arad UP1, Arad UP2) cm. The stands Arad UP1, Arad UP2, Berzeasca, Satu Mare, Valiug, Brasov has been registered with large values (0.18 mg, 0.16 mg, 0.17mg, 0.19mg, 0.18mg) regarding the samara weight. The seeds with largest length belong to Brasov (1.88 cm), Satu Mare (1.87 cm) and to Zalau (1.74 cm) all being recorded with superior differences, statistically assured. The seeds with large width belonged to: Arad UP1 (0.83cm) stands, the amplitude of variation were between 0.37 cm (Zalau) and 0.83 cm (Arad UP1). The seeds weight had different values at the studied genotypes of Fraxinus excelsior obtaining the amplitude of variation between 0.04 g (Valiug, Arad UP1, Arad UP2) and 0.08 g (Satu Mare). If there are correlations between germination percentage and length and width of seeds can be used in breeding programs like parental genotypes the following stands: Brasov (1.88 cm) for length of seeds and Arad UP1 (0.83cm) for width of seeds. In most of the Fraxinus fruits studied in the experiment, the variability was small to medium. The seeds width is the only traits that present the large variability in this study (CV=56.3%).