Sourcing and Propagation of Pontechium maculatum for Horticulture and Species Restoration

Abstract

Pontechium maculatum, a species of ornamental, apicultural, health and medicinal value, is threatened in some Central European countries including Poland. Its propagation using seeds or in vitro techniques is needed for multiple applications including conservation. Generative propagation efficacy of P. maculatum plants representing different genetic resources (received from botanical gardens in Germany and in Poland) propagated from seeds or in tissue culture was assessed. Moreover, an efficient technique of propagation of P. maculatum using in vitro shoot culture from seedlings was elaborated for the first time. The highest propagation efficacy was noted for German plants of seed origin. The ability of seeds to germinate was similar for all plants; however, seeds were in a state of dormancy, which was broken by GA3. After two years of storage, the seeds still retained the ability to germinate though seeds from propagated in vitro plants germinated more poorly than those from seed-originated plants. The ploidy assessment showed that some in vitro-origin plants had altered DNA content. The results indicate that efficacy of generative propagation of P. maculatum is resource dependent. Furthermore, results suggest that cultivation in vitro influenced some generative features of examined species, which makes this way of P. maculatum propagation a valuable source of genetic variation and a potential breeding tool.

The Effect of Zinc on Germination in Species of the Genus Echium (Family Boraginaceae)

“…Regarding FGP, the results obtained in the present study for the control in the case of the E. russium species are in agreement with those presented by Nowak et al (2020).…”

Reproductive Biology of Dry Grassland Specialist Ranunculus illyricus L. and Its Implications for Conservation

“…A low temperature is a factor that contributes to the breakdown of abscisic acid, which is a germination inhibitor. GA 3 is a plant-growth regulator, an antagonist of abscisic acid, and has been repeatedly used to break seed dormancy [ 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ] for R. asiaticus. A high temperature, which positively stimulated the germination of R. asiaticus seeds [ 42 ], proved to be an ineffective factor in breaking the R. illyricus dormancy in our studies.…”

“…This situation is a classical illustration of the trade-off rules—greater investment in the progeny increases their chances of survival [ 46 ]. It also happens that the efficiency of the generative reproduction of xerothermic grassland species is very high, but their populations decline in the face of strong competition and changes in habitat use [ 40 ]. In this case, the introduction of grazing or mowing on xerothermic grasslands with the removal of green matter could positively affect the survival of seedlings on natural sites and at the same time increase the genetic diversity of the population.…”