Comparison of the Seed Germination Traits of Five Herbaceous Perennial Campanulaceae Species Native to the Korean Peninsula

Authors:
Open Access
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Seed dormancy and germination traits of Campanulaceae species in relation to ecological factors remains unclear. Hence, we clarified the seed germination characteristics of five Campanulaceae species (Adenophora triphylla (Thunb.) A.DC., Asyneuma japonicum (Miq.) Briq., Campanula punctata Lam., Codonopsis pilosula (Franch.) Nannf., and Lobelia sessilifolia Lamb.) native to Korea. Seeds were subjected to varying temperatures, cold stratification (CS) durations, and gibberellic acid (GA3) concentrations. Seeds of all species imbibed water readily, suggesting the absence of physical dormancy. For A. triphylla, A. japonicum, and L. sessilifolia, suitable seed germination occurred under elevated temperature conditions: 74.0 ± 6.2%, 37.0 ± 1.0%, and 26.0 ± 3.5% germination, respectively, at 25 °C, and 79.0 ± 3.8%, 38.0 ± 3.5%, and 62.0 ± 8.4% germination, respectively, at 25/15 °C (day/night) after 7 weeks after incubation. Germination of C. punctata and C. pilosula was consistently low across all temperatures. CS treatment resulted in significant final germination improvement to ~70.0% in four species, excluding C. pilosula. GA3 application significantly enhanced seed germination by ~60.0% across all species, with the most notable effects observed at 1000 mg∙L−1. Overall, Campanulaceae species seeds are permeable, and pre-treatment with CS and GA3 is required for effective seed germination.
Funding Information
  • Korea Forest Service (RS-2021-KF001796)
  • Korea Forest Service (RS-2025-02253003)

This publication has 33 references indexed in Scilit: