Phenotypic diversity of a wild Solanum population from the Ecuadorian Andes: morphological characterization and conservation relevance

Abstract

Naturally occurring Solanum populations may contain phenotypic variation of interest for Andean crop conservation and improvement. This study characterized 20 adult plants of a Solanum sp. population locally known as ‘tomatillo’ in Cascarillas, Bolívar, Ecuador. Mean plant height was 245.90 ± 29.72 cm. Fruit shape showed limited variation, with 60% of the sampled plants exhibiting elongated ovoid fruits and 40% slightly elongated fruits. The fruits had a rugose surface and measured 4.17 ± 0.12 cm in length and 2.61 ± 0.49 cm in diameter, with an individual weight of 76.94 ± 4.68 g and 251.60 ± 37.53 seeds per fruit. The first three principal components explained 65.80% of the total morphological variance, and hierarchical clustering suggested three exploratory phenotypic groups. These results provide a descriptive baseline for the sampled plants; species identity and population-wide diversity require confirmation through broader sampling and molecular analyses.