Wild accessions are raw reservoirs of genetic diversity that constitute a wide germplasm harboring unique genes and characters that can be used in developing new varieties. Seven wild P. ovata accessions, collected from different climates of south of Iran were selected for evaluation of mucilage content, swelling factor, morphological traits and antioxidants. Although the mean of square for mucilage content was not significant, it ranged from 0.10 g in the accessions collected from Darab to 0.15 g in Abadeh and Firuzabad. Seed swelling factor averaged 11 ml, was in the range of 8.2 to 16.7 ml. Grain yield, averaged 4.9 g, ranged from 3 to 7.8 g in Jahrom and Marvdasht, respectively. The highest plant height was observed in Marvdasht (35.3 cm), Fasa (35.0 cm) and Abadeh (34.5 cm) while Darab (29.2 cm) was the shortest. The highest genetic coefficients of variation were observed for spike number (50.7%), catalase enzyme (47%), spike length (43%) and leaf area (43%). Among mucilage parameters, seed swelling factor (24%) was highly variable. Correlation analysis indicated that seed swelling factor (r=-0.35) was negatively correlated with grain yield although mucilage content (r= 0.36) had positive correlation with grain yield. The wild accessions classified into three major groups based on their similarities in cluster analysis. Seed swelling, grain yield, antioxidants and morphological traits were highly heritable with heritability estimates above 70%. In conclusion, the wild P. ovata genotypes were highly variable for grain yield, morphological traits and seed swelling factor and identification of different wild accessions provides useful information for breeding P. ovata varieties for various purposes
