TITLE:
The Architectural Unit Setting up and Architectural Characteristics of Néré, Parkia biglobosa, Jack, R. Br. (Fabaceae)
AUTHORS:
Beda Innocent Adji, Doffou Sélastique Akaffou, Véronique Letort, Mengzhen Kang, Xiujuan Wang, Marc Jaeger, Philippe De Reffye, Kouadio Henri Kouassi, Yao Patrice Houphouet, Jerôme Duminil, Yves Caraglio, Sylvie Sabatier
KEYWORDS:
Parkia biglobosa, Architectural Development, Architectural Unit, Côte d’Ivoire
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.13 No.1,
January
28,
2022
ABSTRACT: Parkia
biglobosa is a much-loved and over-exploited African savannah
species for its socio-economic importance. Knowing and taking into account its
architectural unit, which is the basis for diagnosing phenology, productivity
and tree health, could provide a new perspective on its sustainable management.
The aim of this study is to establish the architectural development in Parkia biglobosa by retrospective
analysis. To achieve this objective, 390 individuals of all sizes ranging from
seedlings to senescent trees were observed and analysed under various soil and
climatic conditions in Côte d’Ivoire. The results showed that Parkia biglobosa is a light plant but
shading tolerant. It is a mixed vegetative axis plant, the stem is orthotropic*
in its proximal part and plagiotropic* (collapsing) in its distal part in young
stage. The tree then transitions to an adult and old stage into a tree with a
plagiotropic* axis in the proximal and distal parts, the trunk is built up by
superimposing collapsed relay axes that gradually straighten, branching is
sympodial*, growth is defined and sexuality is terminal and lateral. The
ontogeny takes place in three phases: initiation of development and
establishment of the crown (young), then flowering and establishment of the
architectural unity (adult) and finally the death of secondary axes in the
crown, duplication of the architecture by a series of partial and total
reiterations (old). The level of organisation is 5: the phytomere, the module
or growth unit, the axis, the architectural unit and the reiterated complex.
Retrospective analysis of the modules showed that the dimensions of the growth
units are indicators of morphological variation and species adaptation to a
changing climate (P R2 and r