FRUIT MORPHOTYPES AND SEEDLING MORPHOLOGY OF Attalea maripa Mart

Attalea maripa (Aubl.) Mart. (inaja) is oleaginous specie found in tropical rain forest, with great potential to be used as a source of raw material for biofuel. Despite its importance, its natural populations are being phased out during cleaning of pastures and planting crops. Thus, the research aimed to evaluate the morphological and biometric characteristics of matrices, bunches, fruits, seeds and seedlings of inaja in silvopastoral system in Nova Timboteua and Bonito, Para State. Five matrices, five bunches and 500 fruits were selected per provenance for morphometric analysis. For the morphological description of the fruit and pyrene were used 100 fruits. To study the morphology of seedlings were sowed 100 pyrenes. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t test, correlation analysis and discriminant analysis. The inaja is a palm-sized erect with simple cylindrical stem without tillers. The mesocarp and endocarp are the parts that most contribute to the weight of the fruit. There is variation in the size, weight, in the form of fruit and pyrenes. There are three classes of fruits morphotypes: small, medium and large. The seedling inaja is established with the expansion of third cotyledonary hen and formation of the first leaf. Keywords: discriminant analysis; germination; inaja; Amazon. Attalea maripa (Aubl.) Mart. (inaja) e uma especie oleaginosa que ocorre na floresta tropical, com grande potencial para ser usada como fonte de materia-prima para biocombustivel. Apesar de sua importancia, suas populacOes naturais estao sendo gradualmente eliminadas durante a limpeza de pastos e para o plantio de culturas agricolas. Desse modo, a pesquisa teve por objetivo avaliar as caracteristicas biometricas e morfologicas de matrizes, cachos, frutos, sementes e plantulas de inaja em sistema silvipastoril, em Bonito e Nova Timboteua, no Para. Foram selecionadas cinco matrizes, cinco cachos e 500 frutos por procedencia, para a avaliacao morfometrica. Na descricao morfologica do fruto e do pirenio, foram usados 100 frutos. Para o estudo de morfologia de plantulas, foram semeados 100 pirenios. Os dados foram analisados pela estatistica descritiva, Teste t, analise de correlacao e analise discriminante. O inaja e uma palmeira de porte ereto, com estipe simples e cilindrico sem perfilhos. O endocarpo e o mesocarpo sao as partes que mais contribuem com o peso do fruto. Existe variacao no tamanho, no peso e na forma dos frutos e dos pirenios. Ha tres classes de mor