Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T14:46:52.111Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A comparative study of the seed germination biology of a narrow endemic and two geographically-widespread species of Solidago (Asteraceae). 1. Germination phenology and effect of cold stratification on germination

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2008

Jeffrey L. Walck ,
Jerry M. Baskin  and
Carol C. Baskin
Jeffrey L. Walck
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506-0225, USA
Jerry M. Baskin
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506-0225, USA
Carol C. Baskin
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506-0225, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Solidago shortii is endemic to a small area in northcentral Kentucky (USA), whereas two of its sympatric congeners, S. altissima and S. nemoralis, are geographically widespread. Seeds (achenes) of S. shortii (0.370 mg) are significantly larger (PLSD, P=0.05) than those of S. altissima (0.070 mg) and S. nemoralis (0.068 mg). Germination percentages of freshly-matured seeds of the three Solidago species collected in November 1991, 1992 and 1994 were 0–2% in light at 15/6°C, 1–37% at 20/10°C, 9–56% at 25/15°C and 10–85% at 30/15 and 35/20°C. Stratification increased the percentage and rate of germination and decreased the time to the onset of germination (measured by Timson's index only at 20/10°C in light) in the three species. Following 12 weeks of cold stratification in light, seeds of the three species germinated to 72–100% in the light and to 22–100% in darkness over the range of thermoperiods; those cold-stratified in darkness germinated to 39–100% in light. Freshly-matured seeds of S. altissima and of S. nemoralis germinated to 0–4% in darkness, whereas those cold-stratified for 12 weeks in darkness germinated to 0–28% in darkness. On the other hand, freshly-matured and cold-stratified (in darkness) seeds of S. shortii germinated to 0–13 and 13–73%, respectively, in darkness. Under near-natural temperatures in a glasshouse without temperature control, germination of the three species peaked in March. Thus, the primary difference in dormancy-breaking and germination requirements of the three species is that the endemic germinates to a much higher percentage in darkness than its two congeners. Seeds of S. shortii do not have any special dormancy-breaking or germination requirements that could not be fulfilled outside its present-day geographic range.

Keywords

Asteraceaecold stratificationdormancyendemismgerminationSolidagoTimson's index
Type
Ecophysiology
Information
Seed Science Research , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , March 1997 , pp. 47 - 58
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1997

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Auld, B.A. and Medd, R.W. (1987) Weeds: an illustrated botanical guide to the weeds of Australia. Melbourne, Inkata Press.Google Scholar
Bard, G.E. (1952) Secondary succession on the Piedmont of New Jersey. Ecological Monographs 22, 195–215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barkley, T.M. (1977) Atlas of the flora of the Great Plains. Ames, Iowa State University Press.Google Scholar
Barnhill, M.A., Cunningham, M. and Farmer, R.E. Jr. (1983) Germination strategies in Aster pilosus, Eupatorium serotinum and Solidago altissima and their relation to revegetation systems. Reclamation and Revegetation Research 2, 25–30.Google Scholar
Baskauf, C.J. and Eickmeier, W.G. (1994) Comparative ecophysiology of a rare and a widespread species of Echinacea (Asteraceae). American Journal of Botany 81, 958–964.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baskin, C.C. and Baskin, J.M. (1988) Germination ecophysiology of herbaceous plant species in a temperate region. American Journal of Botany 75, 286–305.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baskin, C.C., Baskin, J.M. and Leck, M.A. (1993) Afterripening pattern during cold stratification of achenes of ten perennial Asteraceae from eastern North America, and evolutionary implication. Plant Species Biology 8, 61–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baskin, C.C., Baskin, J.M. and Van Auken, O.W. (1994) Germination response patterns during dormancy loss in achenes of six perennial Asteraceae from Texas, USA. Plant Species Biology 9, 113–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baskin, J.M. and Baskin, C.C. (1973) Plant population differences in dormancy and germination characteristics of seeds: heredity or environment? American Midland Naturalist 90, 493–498.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baskin, J.M. and Baskin, C.C. (1985a). Does seed dormancy play a role in the germination ecology of Rumex crispus? Weed Science 33, 340–343.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baskin, J.M. and Baskin, C.C. (1985b) The light requirement for germination of Aster pilosus seeds: temporal aspects and ecological consequences. Journal of Ecology 73, 765–773.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baskin, J.M. and Baskin, C.C. (1989) Physiology of dormancy and germination in relation to seed bank ecology. pp 53–66in Leck, M.A., Parker, V.T. and Simpson, R.L. (Eds) Ecology of soil seed banks. San Diego, Academic Press, Inc.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bazzaz, F.A. (1968) Succession on abandoned fields in the Shawnee Hills, southern Illinois. Ecology 49, 924–936.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beimborn, W.A. (1970) Establishment ecology of gray goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis Ait.). MS Thesis, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey.Google Scholar
Beimborn, W.A. (1973) Physical factors affecting establishment of Solidago nemoralis on the New Jersey Piedmont. PhD Thesis, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey.Google Scholar
Blake, A.K. (1935) Viability and germination of seeds and early life history of prairie plants. Ecological Monographs 5, 405–460.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bradbury, I.K. (1973) The strategy and tactics of Solidago canadensis L. in abandoned pastures. PhD Thesis, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario.Google Scholar
Bradshaw, A.D. (1987) Comparison — its scope and limits. New Phytologist 106(Suppl.), 3–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, R.F. and Mayer, D.G. (1988) Representing cumulative germination. 1. A critical analysis of single-value germination indices. Annals of Botany 61, 117–125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buchele, D.E., Baskin, J.M. and Baskin, C.C. (1989) Ecology of the endangered species Solidago shortii. I. Geography, populations, and physical habitat. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 116, 344–355.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buchele, D.E., Baskin, J.M. and Baskin, C.C. (1991a) Ecology of the endangered species Solidago shortii. II. Ecological life cycle. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 118, 281–287.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buchele, D.E., Baskin, J.M. and Baskin, C.C. (1991b) Ecology of the endangered species Solidago shortii. III. Seed germination ecology. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 118, 288–291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buchele, D.E., Baskin, J.M. and Baskin, C.C. (1992) Ecology of the endangered species Solidago shortii. V. Plant associates. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 119, 208–213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cornelius, R. (1990) The strategies of Solidago canadensis L. in relation to urban habitats III. Conformity to habitat dynamics. Acta Oecologica 11, 301–310.Google Scholar
Croat, T. (1972) Solidago canadensis complex of the Great Plains. Brittonia 24, 317–326.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deno, N.C. (1994) Seed germination, theory and practice. 2nd edition, 5th printing. Pennsylvania, State College, Published by the author.Google Scholar
Fernald, M.L. (1950) Gray's manual of botany. 8th edition. New York, American Book Company.Google Scholar
Fiedler, P.L. (1987) Life history and population dynamics of rare and common mariposa lilies (Calochortus Pursh: Liliaceae). Journal of Ecology 75, 977–995.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibson, D. (1961) Life-forms of Kentucky flowering plants. American Midland Naturalist 66, 1–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gleason, H.A. and Cronquist, A. (1991) Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. 2nd edition. Bronx, New YorkBotanical Garden.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grime, J.P., Mason, G., Curtis, A.V., Rodman, J., Band, S.R., Mowforth, M.A.G., Neal, A.M. and Shaw, S. (1981) A comparative study of germination characteristics in a local flora. Journal of Ecology 69, 1017–1059.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gutterman, Y. (1992) Maternal effects on seeds during development. pp 27–59in Fenner, M. (Ed.) Seeds: the ecology of regeneration in plant communities. Wallingford, CAB International.Google Scholar
Hare, F.K. and Thomas, M.K. (1979) Climate Canada. 2nd edition. Toronto, John Wiley and Sons Canada Ltd.Google Scholar
Hayashi, I. (1977) Secondary succession of herbaceous communities in Japan. Japanese Journal of Ecology 27, 191–200.Google Scholar
Hayashi, I. (1979) Secondary succession of herbaceous communities in Japan - Seed germination and shade tolerance of seedlings of the dominants. Bulletin of the Yokohama Phytosociological Society 16, 407–414.Google Scholar
Holm, L., Pancho, J.V., Herberger, J.P. and Plucknett, D.L. (1979) A geographical atlas of world weeds. New York, John Wiley and Sons.Google Scholar
Jolls, C.L. and Werner, P.A. (1989) Achene biomass and within-achene allocation patterns of five co-occurring goldenrod species (Solidago: Compositae). American Midland Naturalist 121, 256–264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, H.L. (1978) Compositae. pp 768–965in Li, H.L., Liu, T.S., Huang, T.C., Koyama, T. and DeVol, C.E. (Eds) Flora of Taiwan. Vol. 4 Taipei, Epoch Publishing Company, Ltd.Google Scholar
Mariko, S., Kachi, N., Ishikawa, S.I. and Furukawa, A. (1992) Germination ecology of coastal plants in relation to salt environment. Ecological Research 7, 225–233.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McNeill, J. (1976) Solidago L. pp 110–111in Tutin, T.G., Heywood, V.H., Burges, N.A., Moore, D.M., Valentine, D.H., Walters, S.M. and Webb, D.A. (Eds) Flora Europaea. Vol. 4. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Mitchell, E. (1926) Germination of seeds of plants native to Dutchess County, New York. Botanical Gazette 81, 108–112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Numata, M. and Asano, S. (1969) Biological flora of Japan. Vol. 1. Sympetalae-1. Tokyo, Tsukiji Shokan Publishing Company, Ltd..Google Scholar
Ohtsuka, T. and Ohsawa, M. (1994) Accumulation of buried seeds and establishment of ruderal therophytic communities in disturbed habitat, central Japan. Vegetatio 110, 83–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Radford, A.E., Ahles, H.E. and Bell, C.R. (1968) Manual of the vascular flora of the Carolinas. Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press.Google Scholar
Roach, D.A. and Wulff, R.D. (1987) Maternal effects in plants. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 18, 209–235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Root, R.A. (1971) Selected aspects of the ecophysiology of Solidago canadensis: the phytotoxicity of the species and its role in old-field ecosystems. PhD Thesis, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.Google Scholar
SAS Institute Inc. (1985) SAS user's guide: statistics. Cary, North Carolina.Google Scholar
Scoggan, H.J. (1979) The flora of Canada. Part 4 - Dicotyledoneae (Loasaceae to Compositae). National Museum of Natural Sciences, Publications in Botany No. 7(4), 1117–1711. Ottawa, National Museums of Canada.Google Scholar
Semple, J.C. (1993) Solidago. pp 342–343in Hickman, J.C. (Ed.) The Jepson manual: higher plants of ornia. Berkeley, University of California Press.Google Scholar
Semple, J.C., Chmielewski, J.G. and Brammall, R.A. (1990) A multivariate morphometric study of Solidago nemoralis (Compositae: Astereae) and comparison with S. californica and S. sparsiflora. Canadian Journal of Botany 68, 2070–2082.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snyder, K.M., Baskin, J.M. and Baskin, C.C. (1994) Comparative ecology of the narrow endemic Echinacea tennesseensis and two geographically widespread congeners: relative competitive ability and growth characteristics. International Journal of Plant Sciences 155, 57–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stokes, P. (1965) Temperature and seed dormancy. pp 746–803in Ruhland, W. (Ed.) Encyclopedia of plant physiology. Vol. 15, Part 2. Berlin, Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
Thompson, K. and Grime, J.P. (1979) Seasonal variation in the seed banks of herbaceous species in ten contrasting habitats. Journal of Ecology 67, 893–921.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Timson, J. (1965) New method of recording germination data. Nature 207, 216–217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Voser-Huber, M.L. (1983) Studien an eingebürgerten Arten der Gattung Solidago L. Dissertationes Botanicae 68, 1–97.Google Scholar
Walck, J.L., Baskin, C.C. and Baskin, J.M.Comparative achene germination requirements of the rockhouse endemic Ageratina luciae-brauniae and its widespread close relative A. altissima (Asteraceae). American Midland Naturalist, in press.Google Scholar
Wallis, A.L. Jr., (1977) Comparative climatic data through 1976. North Carolina, Asheville, US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Data Service, National Climatic Data Center.Google Scholar
Weber, E. and Schmid, B. (1993) Das Neophytenproblem. Dissertationes Botanicae 196, 209–227.Google Scholar
Werner, P.A. (1979) Competition and coexistence of similar species. pp 287–310in Solbrig, O.T., Jain, S., Johnson, G.B. and Raven, P.H. (Eds) Topics in plant population biology. New York, Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Werner, P.A. and Platt, W.J. (1976) Ecological relationships of co-occurring goldenrods (Solidago: Compositae). American Naturalist 110, 959–971.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Werner, P.A., Bradbury, I.K. and Gross, R.S. (1980) The biology of Canadian weeds. 45. Solidago canadensis L. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 60, 1393–1409.CrossRefGoogle Scholar