Seed traits, germination pattern and seedling vigour in Antiaris toxicaria (Pers.) Lesch., a rare plant species of Western ghats

Antiaris toxicaria (Pers.) Lesch. is one of the species of ecological importance distributed in Western Ghats and other parts. This species is considered as one of the threatened species and it needs conservation. The information on fruit and seed trait variation and germination attributes are scanty. Such database is useful for afforestation programme as well as for augmentation of rare plant species in their natural habitat. For the present study, 10 open pollinated trees distributed in Devade forest of Sakharpa were marked. April month was the peak fruiting period and healthy fruits were collected from the ground. Fruit and seed traits were found to be varied significantly among trees, where fruit length ranged from 21.50 to 24.71 mm and fruit weight ranged from 3.64 to 4.07 g. Similarly, seeds length (14.01 -15.09 mm), seed thickness (12.15 -13.04 mm) and seed weight (1.20 â€“ 1.57g) also showed significant variation among 10 trees. Field observation showed that there was a poor regeneration in this species at studied site. Therefore, germination study was conducted at nursery condition by imposing several pretreatments. Among eight treatments including control, soaking seeds in water for 24 hrs (T2) resulted in better germination of 38.0% as compared to others. In T2 seed germination started at 16 days after sowing and completed within 42 days. Potting mixture of red soil with saw dust in 30:70 ratio improved seed germination about 20 % as compared to red soil media.

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Seed ecology ofSynthyris bullii(Plantaginaceae), a rare endemic of the midwestern USA

Botany ◽

10.1139/cjb-2013-0024 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 91 (12) ◽

pp. 884-889 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Marnelle Curtis ◽

Katherine Chi ◽

Brenda Molano-Flores

Keyword(s):

Seed Germination ◽

Plant Species ◽

Seed Viability ◽

Seed Storage ◽

Habitat Destruction ◽

Rare Plant ◽

Rare Plant Species ◽

Seed Ecology ◽

Midwestern Usa ◽

Management Plans

Many rare plant species are declining owing to habitat destruction and degradation. Because many populations of rare species suffer low recruitment, a good understanding of seed ecology is crucial for developing effective conservation and management plans. In this study, we examine the effects of shading, seed longevity, and soilless mixes on seed germination for the rare midwestern USA endemic Synthyris bullii (Eaton) A. Heller. Seed germination studies were conducted in a greenhouse environment utilizing seeds from populations collected in Illinois in 2008, 2009, and 2010. In the shading study, both control (66.7% ± 1.3%) and green wrap (63.7% ± 1.3%) had similar and greater percent seed germination than the solid white wove paper (59.5% ± 1.3%). Percent seed germination was similar for seeds collected in 2010 and 2009 (59.5% ± 3.3% and 55.1% ± 4.4%, respectively) in the longevity study, but germination was lower for seeds collected in 2008 (27.1% ± 4.0%) compared with both of the other years. For the soilless mixes study, seeds sown in only one of the three media, Fafard Super-Fine Germinating Mix, emerged (3.5% ± 1.0%). Results from these studies suggest that for S. bullii, (i) seeds may be shade tolerant, (ii) seed viability lessens with age, and (iii) seedlings require a special soilless mix to grow. The information generated by this study can provide guidelines for better seed storage and germination protocols for the conservation of this rare plant species.

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