TY -JOUR
AU -Sauren Das and  Monoranjan Ghose
TI -Seed Structure and Germination Pattern of Some Indian Mangroves with Taxonomic Relevance
PY -2003
DA -0000-00-00
JO -Taiwania
VL -48
IS -4
SP -287
EP -298
UR -https://taiwania.ntu.edu.tw/abstract/25
AB -Seed morphology and germination patterns of 17 halophytes belonging to 10 families of
Sundarbans, India, were studied in view of their dispersal, rehabilitation and taxonomic interest. Fruits are mostly one seeded in the investigated taxa, except in Acanthus ilicifolius, Excoecaria agallocha, Sonneratia apetala and Xylocarpus spp. Seeds are inseparable from fruits in Aegialitis rotundifolia, Aegiceras corniculatum, Avicennia spp., Nypa fruticans and the investigated species of Rhizophoraceae. Propagules are mostly dispersed by tidal water. They have to float for some distance prior to establishment for a gradual adjustment of the young ones towards the saline environment. Viviparous germination occurs in all members of Rhizophoraceae, where seed germination takes place immediatelyafter fertilization without any dormancy period. In this case the long hypocotyl comes out of the seed and ultimately from the fruit when the fruit is still attached with the mother plant. This phenomenon is considered as the most complex and highly evolved phenomenon in evolutionary line. In Aegialitis rotundifolia, Aegiceras corniculatum, Avicennia spp. And Nypa fruticans, germination occurs following an incipiently viviparous type where the hypocotyl pierces out of the seed coat but not from the exocarp at the time of dispersal. This incident should be defined more appropriately as cryptovivipary. On the basis of seed characters, an identification key was generated for easy identification of the dispersing units.
DO -10.6165/tai.2003.48(4).287