In vitro culture of sempre-vivas species (Comanthera): a review

Abstract

The term “sempre-viva” denotes plants whose structures retain their natural form and color after being cut and dried. For these reasons, they are commercially valuable for ornamental purposes. However, due to extractive overexploitation of their inflorescences, some of these species are considered endangered. The genus Comanthera includes the sempre-vivas species with greatest economic importance in Brazil. Previous studies have shown that tissue culture is a workable strategy for in vitro propagation and conservation of species of this genus. However, these studies are still incipient. Therefore, the objective of this review is to summarize the findings on the in vitro cultivation of species of the Comanthera genus, to serve as the basis for future research. The text is structured in two main topics: micropropagation and in vitro conservation.

Gelation of Culture Medium with K-Carrageenan Improves and Reduces the Cost of in vitro Propagation of Comanthera mucugensis (Giul.) L. R. Parra & Giul

“…Rooting is one of the limiting steps for the propagation of "evergreens" due to the low response of plants to the formation of roots in vitro. Previous investigations showed that the use of auxin is not efficient for inducing root growth of C. mucugensis [3], which contributes to the low success of ex vitro cultivation. In the present study, the type of medium gelling did not promote a significant difference in the induction and root characteristics of the shoots.…”

“…Currently, the species is considered to be at high risk of extinction in the wild [2]. The growth of C. mucugensis occurs under restricted environmental conditions, which makes it difficult to establish ex situ cultures and makes plant tissue culture the main technique for cultivation and propagation of the species [3]. However, this is a very expensive method of ex situ conservation and many germplasm collections can have low genetic variability [4].…”