Morphological variability of ‘bush banana’ (Uvaria chamae) and its environmental determinants in Benin, West Africa

Uvaria chamae is an edible wild fruit of great importance as a resource in West Africa. However, it is threatened in its natural habitats in Benin, and no specific measures are currently implemented to ensure its sustainable management. To provide information needed for developing such measures, this study (i) described the morphological variability of U. chamae; (ii) assessed the influence of environmental variables on these morphological traits; and (iii) characterized its morphological types along the environmental gradients in Benin. Data on morphological traits were collected on shrubs, leaves, fruits, and seeds of 210 individuals from seven phytodistricts of the Guineo-Congolian and Sudano-Guinean biogeographical zones of Benin where this species occurs. Descriptive statistics, linear mixed effect model, redundancy analysis, principal components analysis, and hierarchical clustering were used to describe the morphological variability of U. chamae and its environmental determinants. Results showed that morphological traits varied significantly at the 25