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SEEDS OF KOSTELETZKYA VIRGINICA (MALVACEAE): THEIR STRUCTURE, GERMINATION, AND SALT TOLERANCE. I. SEED STRUCTURE AND GERMINATION
Author(s) -
PoljakoffMayber A.,
Somers G. F.,
Werker E.,
Gallagher J. L.
Publication year - 1992
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.1537-2197.1992.tb14545.x
Subject(s) - biology , germination , coat , imbibition , dormancy , palisade cell , botany , seed dormancy , viral tegument , horticulture , paleontology , virology
Dormancy of Kosteletzkya virginica (L.) Presl. seeds is primarily due to the impermeability of the seed coat to water. The impermeable structure is assumed to be, in other Malvaceae, the palisade layer of the seed coat. The percentage of seeds capable of imbibition and germination increased with increasing time of storage at low temperatures, but the release from dormancy was not accompanied by decreased seed coat resistance to pressure. Under natural conditions, mechanical damage to the seed coat due to changes in temperature and/or abrasion may render the seeds water permeable. It is not clear what causes water permeability during storage under laboratory conditions. During seed maturation and drying, the inner epidermis of the tegmen partly separates from the rest of the seed coat and an air space, which makes the seed buoyant, is formed around the region of the chalazal cleft. The optimal temperature for germination of K. virginica seeds is between 28 and 30 C in light or darkness.