Germination of different seed types in the heterocarpous Atriplex aucheri andits hormonal explanation

摘要

Some plants produce two or more distinct types of seeds on a single individual (Venable 1985). Heteromorphic seeds usually have different germination and dormancy characteristics (Manddk 1997). However, few studies have defined the dormancy types andmeasured the hormone contents of different seed types (Wang et al 2012). Atriplex aucheri is an annual in the family Chenopodiaceae producing three morphologically distinct types of fruits and seeds on the same plant. The main aim of this study was to compare germination characteristics of heteromorphic seeds, and ascertain their dormancy types and give hormonal explanation.