The after-ripening of embryos on the mother plant

Abstract

Experimental stratification and sowing-out of achenes ofChaerophyllum bulbosum L.,Clematis vitalba L. andHedera helix L., collected at various periods of the year, confirmed the opinion that, in species with hemibradysporic to bradysporic dissemination, the after-ripening of embryos takes place not only within the soil and during stratification, but under favourable conditions also directly on the mother plant. In seeds with dry pericarp, the after-ripening takes place under the influence of atmospheric moisture, while in fleshly fruits the same process develops under the influence of water absorbed from the fleshy part of the pericarp.