ASSESSING THE MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS FOR TAXONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE AMONG INTRASPECIFIC VARIATIONS OF THREE NERIUM ODORUM CULTIVARS

Runa Rashmi?, and Maheshwar Prasad Trivedi

ABSTRACT

Nerium odorum (L.) (Apocynaceae) is one of the most interesting groups of ornamental plants with a high medicinal value. It is the only species currently classified in the genus Nerium. Though considerable variation can be observed in gardens around the world, no information on the origin is available and not even attempts have been made so far to study the genomic relations among Nerium. The study was conducted for assessment of intraspecific variation in a highly valuable medicinal plant Nerium odorum. This work can lead to development of an efficient protocol to study the morphological relationship between three selected cultivars of Nerium odorum using morphological characters.

Keywords: Intraspecific Variations, Medicinal Plant, Observing and Phenotypic Characters.