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Two-hundred-year seed survival of Leucospermum and two other woody species from the Cape Floristic region, South Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2007

Matthew I. Daws ,
Jennifer Davies ,
Elly Vaes ,
Roelof van Gelder  and
Hugh W. Pritchard
Matthew I. Daws*
Affiliation:
Seed Conservation Department, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Wakehurst Place, Ardingly, West Sussex, RH17 6TN, UK
Jennifer Davies
Affiliation:
Seed Conservation Department, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Wakehurst Place, Ardingly, West Sussex, RH17 6TN, UK
Elly Vaes
Affiliation:
Seed Conservation Department, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Wakehurst Place, Ardingly, West Sussex, RH17 6TN, UK
Roelof van Gelder
Affiliation:
The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 4DU, UK NRC Handelsblad, Herengracht 545-549, 1017 BW Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Hugh W. Pritchard
Affiliation:
Seed Conservation Department, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Wakehurst Place, Ardingly, West Sussex, RH17 6TN, UK
*
*Correspondence Fax: +44 (0)1444 894110 Email: m.daws@rbgkew.org.uk
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Abstract

The ability of orthodox seeds to survive long-term dry storage is a key prerequisite for ex situ seed conservation in genebanks. However, only a few credible observations of seed survival for ≥ 200 years have been reported. In this paper, seed survival is shown for three species under suboptimal storage conditions for a documented time of ≥ 203 years and carbon dated at 218–270 years. Two species that germinated are in the Fabaceae (Liparia sp. and Acacia sp.). A water-impermeable seed coat, and hence an inability to equilibrate with ambient relative humidity, may contribute to long-term survival of these species. The third species that germinated (Leucospermum sp.) does not have a water-impermeable seed coat, and long-term survival may be linked to an oxygen-impermeable barrier in the seed. These results for species from the Cape Floristic Region, South Africa, suggest adaptation for extreme longevity in seeds of species of seasonally dry, Mediterranean environments.

Keywords

FabaceaeLeucospermumlongevityProteaceaeseedstorage
Type
Research Article
Information
Seed Science Research , Volume 17 , Issue 2 , June 2007 , pp. 73 - 79
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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