Belamcanda chinensis is an ornamental plant cultivated as a medicinal herb in its countries of origin: China and Japan. It is propagated by rhizomes and seeds, but little is known on the optimal conditions for its germination. This study aimed to assess germination temperatures and treatments to overcome its seed dormancy. Two experiments were conducted: the first evaluated the effects of constant temperatures of 20 ºC, 25 ºC and 30 ºC (in the dark) and 20-30 ºC with light (8-h photoperiod), while the second one involved the removal of combinations from the seed tegument structure (with and without tegument), with pre-hydration at 7 ºC, 30 ºC or no pre-hydration, in addition to an extra treatment without tegument or pre-hydration. Alternating the temperature results in better effects on the variables evaluated, while, at constant temperatures, there is little or no germination. The removal of the outer tegument structure and from seeds pre-hydrated at 30 ºC accelerates the germination process.

The leopard lily (Belamcanda chinensis) is an exotic ornamental Iridaceae in Brazil and cultivated as a medicinal plant in its countries of origin (China and Japan). It is propagated by rhizomes and seeds; however, the viability of these seeds after storage remains unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the germinability of stored B. chinensis seeds. Seeds harvested between March and April 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 were separated by year and stored in paper bags in a room without relative humidity and temperature control. Seeds from these four years were analyzed for moisture content, 100-seed weight and germination index. The freshly harvested seeds (2013) and those stored for one year (2012) exhibited 72% and 41% germination, respectively, and 80% and 47% primary root emission at the end of 20 weeks. However, seeds stored for two and three years (2010 and 2011) didnot germinate. B. chinensis seeds remained viable for up to one year of storage.