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Asymbiotic Germination and Leaf Explant-Based Regeneration of the Endangered Medicinal Orchid Hemipilia cucullata from Mature Seeds
Published on: September 19, 2025
Successful seed germination of the nickel hyperaccumulator Stackhousia tryonii
Naveen P Bhatia1, Ani E Nkang, Kerry B Walsh
1Primary Industries Research Centre, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Queensland 4702, Australia. naveen.bhatia@ansto.gov.au
Background And Aims:
Stackhousia tryonii, a rare nickel hyperaccumulating herb, is endemic to ultramafic (serpentine) soils of central Queensland, Australia. The effects of eight dormancy-relieving treatments on germination of stored seeds of Stackhousia tryonii were investigated under controlled light and temperature conditions. *
Methods:
The treatments were: untreated (control i), leached and dehydrated (primed control ii), treating with gibberellic acid (150 and 300 microM), smoke extract (5 and 10 %, v/v) and potassium cyanide (40 and 80 mM). *
Key Results:
Freshly harvested seeds did not germinate. Germination percentage increased with time of storage for up to 18 months (38.3 %). Gibberellin, smoke extract and cyanide treatments did not significantly improve germination. Light did not affect seed germination and there was no interaction between dormancy-relieving treatments and light. A significant inhibition of germination occurred in seeds treated with 5 % (but not 10 %) aqueous smoke extract. Saturated fatty acids, predominantly tridecanoic (C13:0), constituted about 90 % of the total fatty acids in the oil of freshly harvested seeds. In contrast, there was increased accumulation (>75 %) of mono-unsaturated (oleic, c18:1) and poly-unsaturated (linoleic, c18:2; linolenic, c18:3) fatty acids in the oil of stored seeds. *
Conclusions:
Seeds of S. tryonii require an after-ripening period for germination.
