Revista de Biología Tropical ISSN Impreso: 0034-7744 ISSN electrónico: 2215-2075

OAI: https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/oai
Morphology, ecophysiology and germination of seeds of the Neotropical tree <i>Alibertia patinoi</i> (Rubiaceae)
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Keywords

climax species
farred light
mature tropical rain forest
non-pioneer species
non-dormant seeds
rapid germination strategy
recalcitrant seeds
uz rojo lejano
bosque pluvial tropical maduro
especie no pionera
semillas sin latencia
estrategia de germinación rápida
semilla recalcitrante

How to Cite

Escobar Escobar, D. F., & Torres G., A. M. (2013). Morphology, ecophysiology and germination of seeds of the Neotropical tree <i>Alibertia patinoi</i> (Rubiaceae). Revista De Biología Tropical, 61(2), 547–556. https://doi.org/10.15517/rbt.v61i2.11147

Abstract

Alibertia patinoi (Rubiaceae) is of economic and cultural importance for communities in the Colombian Pacific and Amazon regions, where it is cultivated and mature fruits are highly appreciated and consumed. Since there is a lack of knowledge of the seed physiology of this species, we describe here the germination behavior and morphometry of seeds of Alibertia patinoi, and relate them to its habitat. Fruits were collected from a mixed food crop and a commercial plantation in Guaimía village, Buenaventura, Colombia, a tropical rain forest area. We measured length, width, thickness, mass (n=1 400), and moisture content of seeds (n=252). Primary dormancy tests were conducted (n=200), followed by imbibition (n=252) and germination dynamics, under different conditions of light and temperature specific to understory and forest clearings (n=300 seeds). Finally, seed storage behavior was established (n=100 seeds). We observed that size and mass of seeds had a narrow range of values that did not differ within or among fruits and that the species did not exhibit primary dormancy. The seeds are recalcitrant, and recently harvested seeds exhibited higher seed moisture content (ca. 44%) and continuous metabolism. The seed germination percentage was observed to be higher under the specific dense canopy forest light and temperature conditions; furthermore, neither enriched far-red light nor darkness conditions inhibited germination. We concluded that rapid germination could be the establishment strategy of this species. Also, the physiological traits (i.e., rapid germination rate, low germination requirements, absence of primary dormancy, and recalcitrant behavior) and seed size and mass, suggest that A. patinoi is adapted to conditions of mature tropical rain forests.
https://doi.org/10.15517/rbt.v61i2.11147
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