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      Seed development and maturation in early spring-flowering Galanthus nivalis and Narcissus pseudonarcissus continues post-shedding with little evidence of maturation in planta

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          Abstract

          Background and Aims

          Seeds of the moist temperate woodland species Galanthus nivalis and Narcissus pseudonarcissus, dispersed during spring or early summer, germinated poorly in laboratory tests. Seed development and maturation were studied to better understand the progression from developmental to germinable mode in order to improve seed collection and germination practices in these and similar species.

          Methods

          Phenology, seed mass, moisture content and ability to germinate and tolerate desiccation were monitored during seed development until shedding. Embryo elongation within seeds was investigated during seed development and under several temperature regimes after shedding.

          Key Results

          Seeds were shed at high moisture content (>59 %) with little evidence that dry mass accumulation or embryo elongation were complete. Ability to germinate developed prior to the ability of some seeds to tolerate enforced desiccation. Germination was sporadic and slow. Embryo elongation occurred post-shedding in moist environments, most rapidly at 20 °C in G. nivalis and 15 °C in N. pseudonarcissus. The greatest germination also occurred in these regimes, 78 and 48 %, respectively, after 700 d.

          Conclusions

          Seeds of G. nivalis and N. pseudonarcissus were comparatively immature at shedding and substantial embryo elongation occurred post-shedding. Seeds showed limited desiccation tolerance at dispersal.

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          Author and article information

          Journal
          Ann Bot
          Ann. Bot
          annbot
          annbot
          Annals of Botany
          Oxford University Press
          0305-7364
          1095-8290
          May 2013
          10 March 2013
          10 March 2013
          : 111
          : 5
          : 945-955
          Affiliations
          [1 ]Seed Conservation Department, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Wakehurst Place, Ardingly, West Sussex RH17 6TN, UK
          [2 ]Department of Agriculture, University of Reading, Earley Gate, PO Box 237, Reading RG6 6AR, UK
          [3 ]T.T. Chang Genetic Resources Center, International Rice Research Institute, DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines
          Author notes
          [* ]For correspondence. E-mail r.newton@ 123456kew.org
          Article
          mct051
          10.1093/aob/mct051
          3631335
          23478943
          242349b8-8be4-44e8-ba19-161952c0106d
          © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com

          This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

          History
          : 15 November 2012
          : 7 January 2013
          : 21 January 2013
          Page count
          Pages: 12
          Categories
          Original Articles

          Plant science & Botany
          amaryllidaceae,germination,galanthus nivalis,narcissus pseudonarcissus,seed development,desiccation tolerance,embryo growth,temperate woodland geophytes

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