Germination ecophysiology of seeds of the winter annual Chaerophyllum tainturieri: a new type of morphophysiological dormancy

Freshly matured seeds of C. tainturieri have morphophysiological dormancy (MPD), a combination of morphological (underdeveloped embryos) and physiological dormancy of the non-deep type. Embryo growth and germination occur in autumn, after seeds are no longer physiologically dormant, but if seeds are exposed to light for two or more days in summer, after the breakage of dormancy has started, they will germinate in darkness at normal autumn temperatures. October habitat temperatures (c20/10°C) induce dormancy, and consequently no germination occurs in spring. Thus, the species behaves as a strict winter annual, germinating only in autumn. Buried seeds exhibit an annual dormancy-non-dormancy cycle. Seeds become nondormant during summer and re-enter dormancy in autumn. Seeds have a type of MPD not described before, here called "non-deep simple MPD'. -from Authors