Seed dormancy and germination of the subalpine geophyte Crocus alatavicus (Iridaceae)
Ziyan Fu A , Dunyan Tan A D , Jerry M. Baskin A C and Carol C. Baskin A B CA Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Grassland Resources and Ecology and Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Western Arid Region Grassland Resources and Ecology, College of Grassland and Environment Sciences, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urümqi 830052, China.
B Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546, USA.
C Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA.
D Corresponding author. Email: tandunyan@yahoo.cn
Australian Journal of Botany 61(5) 376-382 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT13098
Submitted: 9 April 2013 Accepted: 4 June 2013 Published: 25 July 2013
Abstract
Crocus alatavicus Regel et Sem. is a cormous perennial primarily distributed in central Asia that may have potential in horticulture; however, relatively little is known about seed dormancy in the genus Crocus. The primary aim of the present study was to identify the dormancy breaking and germination requirements of seeds of C. alatvicus and to assign them to a dormancy category. In its natural habitat, the underdeveloped embryo in C. alatavicus seeds grows in early summer, and radicles emerge in early autumn. However, cotyledon emergence is delayed until the following spring. Radicle emergence was promoted by warm stratification and cotyledon emergence by cold stratification. GA3 was ineffective in promoting either radicle or epicotyl emergence. We conclude that seeds of C. alatavicus have deep simple epicotyl morphophysiological dormancy of the type C1bB(root) – C3(shoot). To our knowledge, this is the first detailed study on the ecophysiology of seed dormancy and germination in the genus Crocus.
Additional keywords: epicotyl dormancy, morphophysiological dormancy, underdeveloped embryo.
References
Baskin JM, Baskin CC (1983) Germination ecophysiology of eastern deciduous forest herbs: Hydrophyllum macrophyllum. American Midland Naturalist 109, 63–71.| Germination ecophysiology of eastern deciduous forest herbs: Hydrophyllum macrophyllum.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Baskin JM, Baskin CC (1985a) Germination ecophysiology of Hydrophyllum appendiculatum, a mesic forest biennial. American Journal of Botany 72, 185–190.
| Germination ecophysiology of Hydrophyllum appendiculatum, a mesic forest biennial.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Baskin JM, Baskin CC (1985b) Epicotyl dormancy in seeds of Cimicifuga racemosa and Hepatica acutiloba. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 112, 253–257.
| Epicotyl dormancy in seeds of Cimicifuga racemosa and Hepatica acutiloba.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Baskin CC, Baskin JM (1998) ‘Seeds: ecology, biogeography and evolution of dormancy and germination.’ (Academic Press: San Diego, CA)
Baskin CC, Baskin JM (2003) When breaking seed dormancy is a problem, try a move-along experiment. Native Plants Journal 4, 17–21.
Baskin JM, Baskin CC (2004) A classification system for seed dormancy. Seed Science Research 14, 1–16.
| A classification system for seed dormancy.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Baskin CC, Baskin JM (2007) A revision of Martin’s seed classification system, with particular reference to his dwarf-seed type. Seed Science Research 17, 11–20.
| A revision of Martin’s seed classification system, with particular reference to his dwarf-seed type.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Baskin JM, Baskin CC (2008) Some considerations for adoption of Nikolaeva’s formula system into seed dormancy classification. Seed Science Research 18, 131–137.
Baskin JM, Baskin CC, Li X (2000) Taxonomy, anatomy and evolution of physical dormancy in seeds. Plant Species Biology 15, 139–152.
| Taxonomy, anatomy and evolution of physical dormancy in seeds.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Chien CT, Chen SY, Tsai CC, Baskin CC, Baskin JM, Kuo-Huang LL (2011) Deep simple epicotyl morphophysiological dormancy in seeds of two Viburnum species, with special reference to shoot growth and development inside the seed. Annals of Botany 108, 13–22.
| Deep simple epicotyl morphophysiological dormancy in seeds of two Viburnum species, with special reference to shoot growth and development inside the seed.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 21562028PubMed |
Danilova ME (Ed.) (1985) ‘Reference book on dormant seed germination.’ (‘Nauka’ Publishers: Leningrad, Russia) [In Russian]
Kondo T, Miura T, Okubo N, Shimada M, Baskin CC, Baskin JM (2004) Ecophysiology of deep simple epicotyl morphophysiological dormancy in seeds of Gagea lutea (Liliaceae). Seed Science Research 14, 371–378.
| Ecophysiology of deep simple epicotyl morphophysiological dormancy in seeds of Gagea lutea (Liliaceae).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ma DD, Zhang LP, Wang QJ, Zeng QJ, Jiang FQ, Wang YJ, Hu RJ (2003) Influence of the warm-wet climate on Sailimu lake. Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology 25, 219–223. [in Chinese with English abstract]
Mao ZM, Zhang DM (1994) The conspectus of ephemeral flora in northern Xinjiang. Arid Zone Research 11, 1–26. [in Chinese with English abstract]
Martin AC (1946) The comparative internal morphology of seeds. American Midland Naturalist 36, 513–660.
| The comparative internal morphology of seeds.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Masuda M, Washitani I (1990) A comparative ecology of the seasonal schedules for reproduction by seeds in a moist tall grassland community. Functional Ecology 4, 169–182.
| A comparative ecology of the seasonal schedules for reproduction by seeds in a moist tall grassland community.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Nikolaeva MG (1969) ‘Physiology of deep dormancy in seeds.’ (Izdatel’stvo ‘Nauka’: Leningrad, Russia). [Translated from Russian by Z. Shapiro]. (National Science Foundation: Washington, DC)
Nikolaeva MG (1977) Factors controlling the seed dormancy pattern. In ‘The physiology and biochemistry of seed dormancy and germination’. (Ed. AA Khan) pp. 51–74. (North-Holland: Amsterdam)
Vurdu H, Güney K, Ḉiḉek FF (2004) Biology of Crocus olivieri subsp. olivieri. In ‘Proceedings of the 1st international symposium on saffron’. (Eds JA Fernández, F Abdullaev) pp. 71–83. (Acta Horticulturae 650: Albacete, Spain)
Zhao YT, Noltie HJ, Mathew BF (2000) Iridaceae. In ‘Flora of China’. (Eds Z-Y Wu, PH Raven) pp. 297–313. (Science Press: Beijing; Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St Louis, MO).
