Abstract
Germination phenology data were collected from 75 winter annuals, 49 summer annuals, 28 monocarpic perennials, and 122 polycarpic perennials. Experimental investigations of dormancy breaking and germination requirements were conducted in Kentucky on 56 winter annuals, 32 summer annuals, 18 monocarpic perennials, and 73 polycarpic perennials. Germination phenology is highly correlated with the responses of seds to the yearly temperature cycle. Species with winter and summer annual life cycles have predictable germination characteristics, but monocarpic and polycarpic perennials do not. Several dormancy types may be found in a given habitat, and narrowly endemic and widely-distributed species in the same genus may have similar germination characteristics. Within some families there is a tendency for a particular type of seed-temperature response to be very important, but frequently this is related to the predominance of a given life cycle type in the family. -from Authors
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 286-305 |
Number of pages | 20 |
Journal | American Journal of Botany |
Volume | 75 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1988 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Genetics
- Plant Science