VOLUME LVIII 



NUMBER 4 



THE 



Botanical Gazette 



OCTOBER 1Q14 



DELAYED GERMINATION IN SEED OF ALISMA 



PLANTAGO 



CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE HULL BOTANICAL LABORATORY 194 



William Crocker and Wilmer E. Davis 



(WITH EIGHT FIGURES) 



I. Introduction 



germination 



some 



experimentation. Muller (23) early found that seeds of Eich- 

 hornia and Heteranthera do not germinate without first being 

 desiccated, and Ludwig (26) demonstrated this for seeds of Mayaca 

 fluviatilis. Pfeffer (23) savs, "nor is it 



certain 



Muller are correct in assuming 



tial for 



further development of Chlamydomonas or for the 



germination of the 



men 



A. Fischer ( 



found 



many 



dormancy, and attributes the action of these reagents to an embryo 

 rather than a coat efFect. The following species were studied 

 by Fischer: Alisma Plantago, Potamogeton lucens, P. pectinatus, 

 Hippurus vulgaris, Polygonum amphibium, Scirpus lacustris, 5. 

 maritimus, Sagittaria platyphylla, S. sagittifolia, and Sparganium 

 tamo sum. 



Somewhat later, Crocker (6) cast doubt upon Fischer's 

 conclusion that the acids and bases are effective through their 



3S. It was found that the seeds of various 



mbr> 



285 



