Germination of Seeds in the Endangered Abronia macrocarpa

Abronia macrocarpa is endemic to Texas and it is listed as endangered by federal and state agencies, but it is believed to have a high potential for recovery. Reintroduction is a potential option for recovery of this species and this could be accomplished using seeds planted in the field or transplanting individuals produced ex situ from seeds. We used a split-plot design to determine the percentage of seeds germinating in the field and to test effects of planting seeds in spring versus autumn. Season of planting significantly influenced percentage of germination. Seeds planted in spring (April 2005) exhibited 27.8% germination, while germination of seeds planted in autumn (November 2005) was only 0.8%. We also investigated the induction of seed germination in the laboratory. Difference in germination was 0–68.6% between the control and treatments. Combining scarification then warm stratification followed by cold stratification resulted in significantly higher germination than other treatments.