Germination behaviour of seeds of the New Zealand woody species Beilschmiedia tawa, Dysoxylum spectabile, Griselinia luck/a, and Weinmannia racemosa

Abstract

Germination rates, percentage germination success, and some aspects of germination delay were examined for seeds of four species, taken from freshly collected fruit. In a treatment where seeds were cleaned of pericarp, kept moist, and in maximum available daylight, germination was relatively rapid for all species, during autumn‐winter, with a high degree of success (Weinmannia 85%, the others 96—100%). In the dark, germination rate was slower for Beilschmiedia and Griselinia but the success was similar. Dysoxylum seeds died in the dark, possibly because they were too wet. Germination of nearly all Weinmannia seeds was inhibited in the dark but they germinated well when put into the light. Germination on soil was also relatively slow, but moderately to highly successful for each species except Weinmannia. No seeds of Beilschmiedia, Dysoxylum, or Griselinia germinated in‐fruit, or in a treatment where the cleaned seeds were kept dry for several months before being wetted. Dried Weinmannia seeds germinated with moderate success. When buried 5 cm deep in soil most Beilschmiedia and Dysoxylum seeds sent shoots to the surface. All Griselinia seeds in this treatment died underground, possibly after germinating. After 20 months’ burial, Weinmannia seeds germinated when unearthed, with a high degree of success.