VARIATION WITHIN STYLOSANTHES SP AFF SCABRA AND COMPARISON WITH ITS CLOSEST ALLIES, STYLOSANTHES-SCABRA AND S-HAMATA

Forty Stylosanthes scabra, S. hamata, and S. sp. aff. scabra lines wer e grown at CSIRO Lansdown Research Station, North Queensland. Morpholo gical features were grouped with the numerical classification program PATN. Agronomical attributes were recorded and analysed for each group . The resulting 5 groups were largely homogeneous by species. Seed col our, the presence of leaf bristles and stipule horn lateral bristles, stem and inflorescence viscidity, growth habit, and stem length and th ickness were important features separating the groups. There were sign ificant differences in yield and seed yield between the groups. Hardse ededness ranged from 2 to 79% and the low level of hardseededness in m any high-yielding lines is cause for concern. Stylosanthes sp. aff, sc abra was found to differ from S. scabra in its narrower and hairless l eaves and the presence of stipule horn lateral bristles in combination with a very short or an absent stipule horn terminal bristle. Apart f rom 1 line, the S. sp. aff. scabra lines fell within 2 groups: a prost rate, low-yielding, anthracnose-susceptible group; and an erect, high- yielding, anthracnose-resistant group. Lines from the second group wil l be released for commercial use.