Cola millenii K. Schum. is a wild edible fruit tree of high socio-economic importance in Sub-Sahara Africa. Its fruit pulp is used for food and nutritional purposes. Other parts of the tree are locally used against several diseases. Given the current threats to natural stands of this species, its domestication has been suggested as one of the methods for its sustainable management. The present study analyzed the domestication potential of this species through evaluation of morphological variability of its fruits across seven phytogeographical districts in Benin. Morphological data on fruits were collected on 1750 fruits from 175 trees distributed among the phytogeographical districts. Univariate and multivariate statistical methods were used for data analyses. The morphological traits of the fruits varied significantly among the phytogeographical districts. Among others, the weight of the pulp fluctuated between 4.18 and 15.55 g and the Bassila phytogeographical district presented the highest value. Variation in quantitative traits was greater between phytogeographical districts (55.44–89.13%) than among individuals within phytogeographical districts (9.52–34.32%). Qualitative descriptors such as shape and the color of the fruits and seeds also unfolded noticeable variation among phytodistricts (Shannon diversity: 0.14–1.46). However, there was no evidence of significant link between the morphological characteristics and the climatic variables considered (rainfall, relative humidity, minimum temperature and maximum temperature). Clustering suggested three fruit morphotypes. Fruits of morphotype 3, in majority from the Bassila and Zou phytogeographical districts had interesting characteristics (e.g. high fruit and pulp weight, and large fruit and seed size) for selection programs.

可乐舒姆 是非洲撒哈拉以南地区具有高度社会经济意义的野生食用果树。其果肉用于食品和营养目的。该树的其他部分在本地用于预防多种疾病。鉴于目前对该物种天然林分的威胁，建议将其驯化作为其可持续管理的方法之一。本研究通过评估贝宁七个植物地理区域的果实形态变异来分析该物种的驯化潜力。水果形态学数据是从分布在植物地理区域的175棵树中的1750种水果中收集的。单变量和多变量统计方法用于数据分析。在不同的植物地理区域，果实的形态特征差异很大。其中，纸浆重量在4.18至15.55 g之间波动，而Bassila植物地理区值最高。在植物地理区域之间，数量性状的差异更大（55.44–89.13％），而在植物地理区域内的个体之间则更大（9.52–34.32％）。定性描述，如果实和种子的形状和颜色，在植物区之间也表现出明显的变化（香农多样性：0.14-1.46）。但是，没有证据表明形态特征与所考虑的气候变量（降雨，相对湿度，最低温度和最高温度）之间存在显着联系。聚类表明三种水果形态。3型形态的水果，大多数来自巴西拉和邹的植物地理区，具有有趣的特征（例如