Re: CULT:SPEC Germination Missouriensis

Greetings:

Arthur has shared his experience with his I.missouriensis seeds:

<<  Some other seeds I put in pots and stuck  them in the refrigerator in the
basement, where they'd be out of the  way for a while.  A couple days ago I
checked the pots, and I was  amazed to find some of those seeds sprouting
right there while in the refrigerator.[...] Is this normal to have the seeds
sprout while still in 
the cold?  If not, what might I have done to prompt this?>>

I don't grow this species and I want to say very clearly that I have no
concrete, learned, scientific answer as to what is going on with these seeds.
But I thought I should take a look at Deno and see what he had to say, if
anything. I think it should be said that Deno is not universally revered and
his experiments wth this species seem to have involved very few seeds which
may also not have been too fresh or potent to begin with. However he tried
four approaches, which I summerize: 

1)  He got about 25% germination when he soaked the seeds well to leach
germination inhibitors and gave them light and warmth--room temperature about
70.
2)  He got no germination  when the soaked seeds were given warmth but no
light.
3)  No germination when soaked seeds were refrigerated three months then
moved to 
warmth but still given no light.
4)  About 30% germination resulted from giving the hydrated seeds three
months chill in the refrigerator and then moving them to both light and
warmth.

So he notes an evident requirement for light among his missouriensis
seeds-something that his experiments indicate that many bog, marsh and water
loving irises need. 

Now, there are some plants which are known to germinate in the cold. Many of
these are--according to Deno--cold desert plants. I have found this also in
some native perennial species from the colder areas of the Great Plains. I
have had perennial plant seeds germinate in the frige. Some irises are, again
according to Deno and others--cold germinators. I have had this happen with
irises,  but not in the frige.

In our earlier discussions of iris seed germination there seemed to be some
differences in people's experiences with the same species. At that time I
asked if it was plausible that there was variation in the requirements of
individual plants within a species based on the environment in which the seed
source plant was grown. Iris missouriensis has a wide and diverse habitat and
is a variable species. Suppose Deno's seed came from a (sickly) plant in a
marshy area and yours, as you say, came from high meadow plant? 

Or maybe the light really doesn't go off when you shut that refrigerator
door! 

Anner Whitehead --just thinking out loud about seeds in Richmond, VA. 
Henry Hall henryanner@aol.com
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