Germination characters in wild and cultivated Anemone coronaria L.

Summary

Achenes of wild forms of Anemone coronaria growing in Israel differ in their germination requirements from achenes of the cultivated de Caen type. The optimum temperature for dark germination was between 10–15°C in the former and between 15–20°C in the latter. Maximum daily rates of germination were higher, reaching 16% per day, and the minimum lag period between sowing and seedling emergence was shorter in achenes of the cultivated than in those of the wild anemone when the two types were incubated under identical conditions. Wild achenes showed a marked post-harvest maturation requirement, and attained full germination, a minimum pre-emergence lag period after sowing, and a maximum daily germination rate only when dry-stored for several months subsequent to harvesting. In the cultivated plant this requirement was far less pronounced or absent. Most embryos in freshly harvested achenes of both the wild and the cultivated anemone were torpedo-shaped but in the cultivated form embryos were larger. In both types embryos remained unchanged in shape and size during dry storage.