The Effects of Short-Term Storage on Germination in Meconopsis Vig. (Papaveraceae)

Authors

  • Alan Elliott Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
  • Gregory Kenicer Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24823/Sibbaldia.2009.166

Abstract

The viability and germination rate of seed of five species and four cultivars of Meconopsis was tested. The seed was stored in both refrigerated (c.4°C) conditions and at ambient temperature (8–17°C) to reflect typical conditions for seed storage in the smaller botanical garden and amateur enthusiast’s collection. Seed that had been stored in each of these conditions was sown sequentially 2, 3, 4 and 5 months after harvest. Seed batches were also treated with 0.25mg/l gibberellic acid (GA) or left untreated. Each of the four combination treatments was associated with an overall reduction in viability and germination rate as time after harvest increased (to a minimum of 66.7% viability and 33.7% germination, except for two species with high viability but no germination in the study period). These reductions were not significantly different between treatments, and use of GA did not significantly increase germination rate. We studied the role of underlying genetic relations on germination by relating our results to the most recent comprehensive phylogeny of the genus, and we suggest that ecology plays a more important role than phylogeny in germination.

Author Biography

Gregory Kenicer, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Lecturer

References

AKIYAMA, S. (2006). Papaveraceae. In: Iwatsuki, K., Boufford, D.E., Obha, H. (Eds). Flora of Japan. Vol. 2a: Angiospermae, Dicotyledoneae, Archichlamydeae (a). Kodansha, Tokyo.

AMSLER, M. (1945). The effect of artificial frost on seed germination. Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society 70: 316–317

BASKIN, C.C. & BASKIN, J.M. (1998). Seeds: Ecology, Biogeography, and Evolution of Dormancy and Germination. Academic Press, San Diego.

BECKETT, K.A., (Ed). (1994). Encyclopaedia of Alpines, Vol. 2 (L–Z). AG S Publications, Pershore.

BENSON, D.A., KARSCH-MIZRACHI , I., LIPMAN, D.J., OSTELL, J. & WHEELER, D.L. (2008). Genbank. Nucleic Acids Research, Jan 36 (database issue):D25–30. Available online at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

BERNATH , J., ed. (1998). Poppy. The Genus Papaver: Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. Harwood Academic Press, Amsterdam.

BRISCOE, M.H. (1996). Preparing Scientific Illustrations. Springer, New York.

CAROLAN , J.C., HOOK, I.L.I., CHASE, M.W., KADEREIT, J.W. & HODKINSON, T.R. (2006). Phylogenetics of Papaver and related genera based on DNA sequences from ITS nuclear ribosomal DNA and plastid trnL intron and trnL-F intergenic spacers. Annals of Botany 98(1): 141–155doi:10.1093/aob/mc10789. Available online: http://www.aob.oxfordjournals.org

CIRUJEDA , A., RECASENS, J. & TABERNER , A. (2006). Dormancy cycle and viability of buried seeds of Papaver rhoeas. Weed Research 46(4): 327–334.

COBB, J.L.S. (1989). Meconopsis. Timber Press, Oregon.

COX, E.H.M. (1934). Notes on the cultivation of the introduced species. In: Taylor, G. (1934). An Account of the Genus Meconopsis. New Flora and Silva, London.

CROSS, R.J. (1940). Raising Primula and Meconopsis from seed. The Garden Chronicle 1 June: p. 273.

DENO, N.C. (1993). Seed Germination: Theory and Practice, 2nd edn. Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.

DENO, N.C. (1996). Seed Germination: Theory and Practice Supplement. Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.

ELLIOTT , A. (2006). Seed germinability of Meconopsis seed stored in the seed bank at RBGE. Unpublished HND student project. RBGE, Edinburgh.

FINCH-SAVAGE , W.E., & LEUBNER-METZGER, G. (2006). Seed dormancy and the control of germination. New Phytologist 171: 501–523.

FLETCHER, H. (1975). A Quest for Flowers. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh.

FOWLER, J. & COHEN L. (1990). Practical Statistics for Field Biologists. Open University Press, Buckingham.

GREY-WILSON, C. (2000). Poppies: the Poppy Family in the Wild and in Cultivation. Batsford Books, London.

GREY-WILSON, C. (2006). The True Identity of Meconopsis napaulensis DC. Curtis’s Botanical Magazine. Blackwell, Oxford

GREY-WILSON, C. & MITCHELL, J. (2006). Establishing and maintaining collections of monocarpic Meconopsis. Sibbaldia 5: 115–128.

GTO PO30 (2009). US Geological Survey EROS. Available at: http://edc.usgs.gov/products/elevation/gtopo30/gtopo30.html (Accessed: March 2009)

HEATH , R.E. (1981). The Collingridge Guide to Collectors’ Alpines: Their Cultivation in Frames and Alpine Houses. Collingridge Books, Surrey.

HUELSENBECK, J.P. & RON QUIST, F. (2001). MRBA YES: Bayesian inference of phylogeny. Bioinformatics 17: 754–755.

INTERNATIONAL SEED TESTING ASSOCIATION (2008). International Rules for Seed Testing: 2008 Edition. International Seed Testing Association, Basserdorf.

JORK, K.B. & KADEREIT, J.W. (1995). Molecular phylogeny of the Old World representatives of Papaveraceae subfamily Papaveroidae with special emphasis on the genus Meconopsis. Plant Systematic Evolution (Suppl.) 9:171–180.

KADEREIT, J.W., SCHWARZBAC K, A.E., JORK, K.B. (1997). The phylogeny of Papaver s.l. (Papaveraceae): polyphyly or monophyly? Plant Systematic Evolution 204:75–98.

KARLSSON, L.M. & MILBERG, P. (2007). A comparative study of germination ecology of four Papaver taxa. Annals of Botany 99(5): 935–946. Available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcm045

KUNDU, S.R. (2008). A compendium of Papaveraceae s.l. in the Indian subcontinent: its distribution and endemism. International Journal of Botany 4(3): 249–259.

LIU, K., EASTWOOD, R.J., FLYNN, S., TURNER, R.M. & STUPPY, W.H. (2008). Seed Information Database (release 7.1, May 2008). Available at: http://www.kew.org/data/sid (Accessed: March 2009)

ROBERT S, C.M., BA PTISTA , S., BRANDT, K. & STRALEY, G.B. (1997). Pre-chilling and gibberellic acid improve seed germination in Lewisia species and Meconopsis betonicifolia. Combined Proceedings of the International Plant Propagators Society. 47: 297–301.

STEVENS, E. (2006) The Meconopsis Group, the big perennial blue Himalayan poppies and RHS awards. Sibbaldia 4: 31-58.

SULAIMAN, I.M. (1993). Seed germination studies in three species of threatened, ornamental, Himalayan poppy, Meconopsis Vig. (Papaveraceae). Seed Science and Technology 21:593–603.

TAYLOR, G. (1934). An Account of the Genus Meconopsis. New Flora and Silva Ltd. London.

The Meconopsis Group (2009) Available at: http://www.meconopsis.org (Accessed: April 2009)

THOMPSON, P.A. (1967). Germination responses of Meconopsis species. Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society 93: 336–343.

VIGUIER, L.G. (1814). Histoire naturelle médic. et économique des pavots. Diss. Montpellier.

YUAN , C., SHI, S., BOUFFORD, D.E. (2003). Phylogenetic analysis of Meconopsis Vig. (Papaveraceae) based on chloroplast and nuclear ribosomal DNA sequences. Unpublished PhD Thesis, Zhongshan University.

Downloads

Published

2009-10-31

How to Cite

Elliott, A., & Kenicer, G. (2009). The Effects of Short-Term Storage on Germination in Meconopsis Vig. (Papaveraceae). Sibbaldia: The International Journal of Botanic Garden Horticulture, (7), 159–179. https://doi.org/10.24823/Sibbaldia.2009.166

Issue

Section

Articles