CoCo Seed Germination Lab
BIOL 1401 General Biology Laboratory
Seed Germination Exercise
Introduction
Seeds are produced by the more advanced plant groups that we will study this semester – Gymnosperms and Angiosperms, which are grouped as seeded-vascular plants. While we often take seeds for granted, they are remarkable in their physiologies and very diverse in their structure and germination requirements. Seed biology is actually a separate sub-discipline in botany, with direct significance to the study of plant ecology and, of course, important to agriculture. Imagine how important it is to farmers to know that the seeds they purchase are the variety ordered and are viable (i.e., they will germinate when sown in the soil).
What is the definition of seed germination?
Seeds are also a tremendously important source of genetic information simply because the seeds of plants can be stored for very long periods of time. In fact, there are reported cases of 10,000 year old arctic lupine (Lupinus arcticus – picture to right; http://images.nbii.gov/plants/nbii_t00073.jpg) seeds germinating after being discovered in a lemming burrow in permafrost. Within 48 hours of collection, some of the seeds started to germinate! Our seed germination exercise will not be as exciting as germinating 10,000 year old seeds – BUT ALMOST!
You will learn a great deal more about how seeds are produced by plants when you take Plant Biology. However, before we begin this exercise, you should know that different plant species employ different strategies to ensure successful seed germination and seedling survival. Some plants, but not all, have seeds that enter into a state of dormancy as they mature on the parent plant so that they will not germinate immediately after being released to the environment, even if environmental conditions seem ideal for them. In those plants that have evolved seed dormancy mechanisms, specific environmental conditions are required to break this state of dormancy. As you
Seed Germination Exercise
Introduction
Seeds are produced by the more advanced plant groups that we will study this semester – Gymnosperms and Angiosperms, which are grouped as seeded-vascular plants. While we often take seeds for granted, they are remarkable in their physiologies and very diverse in their structure and germination requirements. Seed biology is actually a separate sub-discipline in botany, with direct significance to the study of plant ecology and, of course, important to agriculture. Imagine how important it is to farmers to know that the seeds they purchase are the variety ordered and are viable (i.e., they will germinate when sown in the soil).
What is the definition of seed germination?
Seeds are also a tremendously important source of genetic information simply because the seeds of plants can be stored for very long periods of time. In fact, there are reported cases of 10,000 year old arctic lupine (Lupinus arcticus – picture to right; http://images.nbii.gov/plants/nbii_t00073.jpg) seeds germinating after being discovered in a lemming burrow in permafrost. Within 48 hours of collection, some of the seeds started to germinate! Our seed germination exercise will not be as exciting as germinating 10,000 year old seeds – BUT ALMOST!
You will learn a great deal more about how seeds are produced by plants when you take Plant Biology. However, before we begin this exercise, you should know that different plant species employ different strategies to ensure successful seed germination and seedling survival. Some plants, but not all, have seeds that enter into a state of dormancy as they mature on the parent plant so that they will not germinate immediately after being released to the environment, even if environmental conditions seem ideal for them. In those plants that have evolved seed dormancy mechanisms, specific environmental conditions are required to break this state of dormancy. As you