The effect of some environmental factors on morphological, anatomical and phytochemical traits of Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Miller) in South Khorasan province, Iran

Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Miller) is one of the valuable medicinal plants that is widely used in traditional medicine and pharmaceutical industries. This species is native to Iran and due to the wide range of ecological tolerance in different parts of the country with different climatic conditions is naturally distributed and planted. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of ecological factors on morphological, anatomical and phytochemical traits of jujube natural populations in three regions of South Khorasan province. The highest values of morphological traits including height, diameter of breast-height, canopy diameter and canopy cover, length, width and weight of fruit are related to Shahrakht habitat, and leaf length and width to Alghor habitat. The highest values of anatomical traits including number of layers and thickness of spongy parenchyma, thickness of epidermis, midrib and bundle sheath and stomata length were observed in Bijar habitat. Also, the highest values of thickness of lamina, mesophyll and cuticle as well as number of layers and thickness of collenchyma and palisade and number of stomata are related to Shahrakht habitat. In addition, the highest amount of phytochemical traits including extract and antioxidant activity belong to Bijar habitat and the amounts of total phenol and flavonoids belong to Shahrakht habitat. Analysis of variance showed that there was a significant difference between all these traits in the three populations. The results of Pearson correlation showed that among environmental factors, rainfall, annual temperature and altitude had the highest significant correlation with the studied traits, respectively.