Dormancy and germination of the trimorphic achenes of a cold desert annual: spreading the risk over time.

ABSTRACT: Many studies have been done on the relationship between variation in morphology, dispersal ability and degree of dormancy of heterocarpic species with dimorphic diaspores. However, there are far fewer such studies on species that produce trimorphic diaspores. Our aim was to compare dormancy and germination of achenes from peripheral, intermediate and central positions in the capitulum of the diaspore-trimorphic cold desert annual Asteraceae species Heteracia szovitsii, an important component of plant communities in the cold deserts of NW China. Dormancy breaking/germination responses of the three achene morphs and of seeds isolated from the pericarp were tested in the laboratory using standard procedures, and seedling emergence phenology of the achene morphs was monitored under natu

SUBMITTER: Lu J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7717478 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature