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PRODUCTION AND EFFECT OF SEED SIZE IN A GRASSLAND ANNUAL (ERODIUM BRACHYCARPUM, GERANIACEAE)
Author(s) -
Stamp Nancy E.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
american journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.218
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1537-2197
pISSN - 0002-9122
DOI - 10.1002/j.1537-2197.1990.tb15182.x
Subject(s) - biology , germination , geraniaceae , coat , horticulture , botany , agronomy , geranium , ecology , cultivar
Over its fruit maturation period in the field, Erodium brachycarpum (Geraniaceae) exhibited a striking decrease in average seed mass; seeds produced in the 1st week of fruiting were twice the size of those produced 6 weeks later at the time of drought‐induced plant senescence. Individuals with earliest fruit maturation produced the most seeds with the widest range of sizes and over a longer period than the others. In a greenhouse experiment, a similar decline in mean seed weight was generated by inducing drought conditions. Large seeds remained dormant longer and, once the seed coat was scarified, took longer to germinate than small seeds. This study indicates that small E. brachycarpum seeds (36% of the seed pool) produced late in the fruiting period are likely to germinate in the year of seed production, approximately 4–8 months after seed maturation. In contrast, the large seeds (23% of the seed pool), most of which are produced early in the fruiting period, are more likely to germinate in subsequent years (i.e., 15 months or more after seed maturation).