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Australian Journal of Botany Australian Journal of Botany Society
Southern hemisphere botanical ecosystems
RESEARCH ARTICLE

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 C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A 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.


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