Morphological characterization and germination of seeds of Casearia decandra

Abstract

This study aimed at to characterize morphologically the fruits, seeds and seedling development of Casearia decandra and examine the best substrate and temperature for seed germination. The fruits were collected from 13 mothers in the municipality of Irati, Parana State, Brazil. Tests were conducted to determine the weight of 1,000 seeds, number of seeds per kilogram and the seeds moisture content. To test the influence of different substrate and temperature on germination it was tested four temperatures: 20 ºC, 25 ºC, 30 ºC and 35 ºC on four substrates: sand, paper towels, roll paper and vermiculite. The fruit is spherical, with dry pericarp, thin, with glabrous , smooth, and light yellow surface. The seed presents ellipsoid shape, chartaceous, creamy and lightly striated tegument. It has fleshy and orange arils, and fleshy endosperm. The embryo is spatulate, light green, with short axis and heart-shaped paracotyledons. The seedling is epigeous and phanerocotyledonal. The paracotyledons are opposite, heart-shaped and with entire margin. Eophylls are alternate, elliptical, with serrate margins. In the epicotyl occurs small axial stipules. The best germination results were obtained with temperatures of 20 °C, 25 °C and 30 °C with the substrate paper roll.