Morphological characteristics of morphotypes of Solenostemon rotundifolius [(Poir.) J. K. Morton] cultivated in Burkina Faso and Ghana

Abstract Solenostemon rotundifolius, also known as fabirama, frafra potato or pessa, is an annual herb belonging to the Lamiaceae family. It is widely cultivated in tropical regions of Africa and Asia for its edible tubers. S. rotundifolius has significant nutritional, medicinal and socioeconomic potential. Despite its proven potential, S. rotundifolius is one of the minor plants in its cultivation area. As a vegetatively propagated species, the morphotypes characteristics of S. rotundifolius are stable and could be a reference for a clear description and use of landraces. Several studies on the species were based mainly on tuber skin color to identify the morphotypes. However, using this criterion alone can lead to errors in identifying the morphotypes of S. rotundifolius. The present study was carried out to contribute to a better description of the morphotypes of S. rotundifolius cultivated in Burkina Faso and Ghana based on qualitative traits. Twelve accessions of S. rotundifolius, including five from Burkina Faso and seven from Ghana, identified based on leaves and inflorescence aspect, were characterized in Fisher block design with three replications. Thirty qualitative traits related to foliage, flowers, and tubers were recorded. Based on the morphological variability, eight morphotypes were identified. The most discriminating morphological traits were the young plant stem and leaves color, the leaves thickness, the apical leaves color, the flower organs color, the tuber shape, the tuber skin and flesh color. The characteristics of the morphotypes could be a reference for future descriptions of S. rotundifolius morphological variability and for breeding purposes.