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Southern hemisphere botanical ecosystems
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 57(6)

Germinability of seeds stored in capsules on plants of two myrtaceous shrubs: differences among age cohorts and between species

Jae-hyeun Kim A B , Jeffrey L. Walck B C D E , Siti N. Hidayati B C D , David J. Merritt B C and Kingsley W. Dixon B C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Korea National Arboretum, 51-7, Jikdong-Ri, Soheul-Eup, Pocheon-City, Gyeonggi Province 487-821, South Korea.

B Kings Park and Botanic Garden, Fraser Avenue, West Perth, Western Australia 6005, Australia.

C Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, School of Plant Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia.

D Current address: Department of Biology, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN 37132, USA.

E Corresponding author. Email: jwalck@mtsu.edu

Australian Journal of Botany 57(6) 495-501 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT09088
Submitted: 8 May 2009  Accepted: 9 October 2009   Published: 9 November 2009

Abstract

Canopy-stored seed banks are a common trait among members of several plant families in sclerophyllous woodlands of Australia and South Africa, with their fruits usually opening in response to damage or fire. Unknown is whether the degree of dormancy and of germination differs among age cohorts in seeds stored on the mother plant. We examined the extent and speed of germination from two intensely serotinous myrtaceous species, Callistemon glaucus and Calothamnus quadrifidus, for seed held in capsules for up to 9 years. Germination of both species differed significantly among age cohorts (P < 0.0001). However, no consistent increase in germination over a range of temperatures with storage was found, suggesting that no after-ripening occurred and that seeds were non-dormant at maturity. Differences among cohorts may be due to pre-conditioning. Significant (P ≤ 0.0214) differences occurred between the small-seeded Callistemon and the large-seeded Calothamnus. Germination was (1) optimum at ≥20°C for Callistemon but at <20°C for Calothamnus, (2) 9–12 days earlier for Callistemon than for Calothamnus, and (3) higher in light than in darkness for Callistemon but equal in both light conditions for Calothamnus. While germination of the species differed in important features, we would expect synchronous germination of all age cohorts to occur following fire and the onset of regular rainfall.


Acknowledgements

Funding for JK was provided by the Korea Government’s Overseas Fellowship Program and for SNH by the Australian Research Council’s Linkage Projects funding scheme LP0455415. DJM was supported by the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority – Alcoa of Australia Limited Seed Conservation Partnership. This research was conducted under the auspices of the Millennium Seed Bank Project, Kew, which is supported by the UK Millennium Commission, the Wellcome Trust and Orange plc. We appreciate the comments from David Turner on an earlier draft of the paper. Thanks to John Koch and Shane Turner for assistance with seed collection.


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