134 PRINCIPES [Vo]. l5 Germination of Palm Seed JAcr< I(osnpnNx Key West, Florid.a One question often asked of me is: Astrocaryum aculeatum r044 "How long does it take a palm seed to A.up' 65 germinate?" This is one question I do A. Standleyanum (l) 68,47 & 96 not know how to answer. Is there an A. uulgare (I') 4I3 & 334 answer? Can you answer it? Bactris Gasipaes 69 For several years I have kept careful B. major lBB germination records. I now submit them B. rhaphidacantha 197 to The Palm Society in hopes that they B. sp. (Nloore# 9529') 150 may help someone,someday, to find the Bentinckianicobarica (I) 85,82&74 answer. Here are my data: Borassussp. (f) 283"265 & 273 Brassiophoenix d,rymophloeoiiles 245 Butia capitata t49 No. of Name of palm* days B. capitata var. capitata 161 B. eriospatha (.I') 673 & 230 (2) Acrocomia mexicana 440 Calamussp. (1) 107 & 408 A. scleracarpa(3) oro Calyptr ocalyx spicatus I9 Actinorhytis Calapparia 7l Carpentaria acuminttta 78 Aiphanesacanthophylla (1) 9I,43 & 95 Caryota Cumingii (I) 142& 114 A. caryotaelolia(I) 7I, 60 & 61 C. mitis r49 A. erosa (I) 58& rr0 C, urens 198 carrupestre(I) 62 & 62 Allagoptera Chamaerlor ea cataract(rrunl 82 ArchontophoenixCunninghamiana 90 C. costa"ricana 4T 53 a. "p. C. elatior II8 Aliciae 4I Areca C. erumpens(l) 235 & r94 A. (I) 55,25 & 30 Catechu C. glaucilolia 244 (I) 42&6I A. concinna C. rnetallica 197 A. Langloisiana 114 C. microspadix (.I) 105,98 & 65 A. 3I "p. C. monostachys 148 A. triandra(I) 33&41 C. oblongata (l') 40 & 1I7 ArengaEngleri (\,4) I1I,506,626, C. oreophila 2L4 283 & 83 C. Seilrizii (I, 5) 138,203,220 &69 A. microcarpa 26r C. Tepejilote 4l A. obtusit'olia (I) 374,232& 238 Charnaeropshumilis var. arborescens67 A. pinnata 189 C. humilis var. humilis I24 A. "p. 181 Chelyocarpussp. (Moore # 9548) I79 A. tremula 103 Chrysalid,ocarpusCabadae (L) I27 &78 A. und,ulatifolia 268 Clinostigma Gr onophyllum (l) A. Wishtii 298 113& 127 Arikuryroba schizophylla(.L) 51 & f07 Coccothrinax a,cuminata 49 C. aha * Numbers in parens following name refer 63 to key at end o{ list. C. argentata 76 197r1 KOEBERNIK:GERMINATION I35 c. crinitq,0\ 187& 164 H. Sbhatan 38 C. lragrans(l) 24A,24L,20I&59 11. sp. # I 70 C. Martii 47 11.rp.#2(I,7) 290&96 Cocos nucilera (I) 125 & tB2 H.sp.#3 96 -1 C. nucilera var. green Malay (t) H.sp.#4 t+ 76, 151& 153 H.sp.#5 207 C. nucit'eravar. golden Malay I84 H. thebaica (L) 6r,82&66 C. nucilera var. yellow Malay 88 H. turbinata r47 Copernicia glabrescens 32 le'ssenid Bataua 67 C. prunit'era (C. cerilera) 56 .I. sp. (Moorc # 9454) 37 C. hospin (l) 60&r22 Kentio'psis olia aelo rmis 317 C. paucillora 33 Laccospailix au,stroJasica(I) 71 & 53 c. rp. 174 Latanin Lodd,igesii (l) 57&64 C. Yarey r22 L. lontaroid,es 100 C. Yarey \ar. robusta 114 Licwaln el.egans 74 Corozo oleilera 379 L. gracilis 363 Corypha Lecorntei B9 L. grand,is (l) 53, 85, 80, 168 & 107 C. urnbraculifera (l) rr7 &226 L. Lauterba;chii 220 Cry os o phila War sc ew ic zii 68 L. Muell,eri L23 Cyrtostachys Renda LL4 L. peltan (L) r00 & 389 Deckenia nobilis 257 z. rp. 303 Desmoncus horrid,us 161 L. spinosa (I) 78,334,475&36r D.sp.#l 45 Linospad,ixmonostachya (L) 54 & 110 D.sp.#3 B4 Liuistona australis L22 Dictyospenna album (L) 86&43 L. chinensis (I) 62&32 D, aureurn r02 L. decipiens 233 Drymophloeus Beguinii (I) 45,43 & 34 L. humil,is 48 D. oliaaeform.is r23 L. Jenkinsiana 130 D. .p. 104 L. Muelleri 130 Elaeis guineensis 288 L. Robinsoniana(I\ 129,175&LAl Erythea anndta 16r L. rotundilolia (L) 67,62&r99 E. Brandegeei (I) 297& 383 l. sp. (Australia) (I) 110 E. Branilegeei x edulis 238 Manicarin sp. 80 E. ed,ulis (I) 78,186 & 141 M ascar e na lage nic aulis 65 E. .p. 62 M. Reaaughanii 106 Eugeissona sp. L44 M. Verschallehii (I) 84&58 E. triste 2ro Mauritin flev116to 199 Euterpe edulis (I) 53,77&4L Maximiliana Mortinna 361 Gastrococoscrispa (G. o,rm.entalis\(l) Microcoel.um Wed'd,elinnurn(1) 86 & I74 66,107&L32 Neoilypsis Decaryi 52 Gaussia attenuota (I) 25,r48&287 Neonichol.sonia Wotsonii L27 Geonoma baculilera 2W NephrospermaVanhoutteanum (L) 69, G, congesta t84 57" 154& 176 G. longisecto 278 Normanbya Norrnanbyi 79 G. membrananea(1,6) 48 & t4r Oenocarpuspanatnanus (l ) 25&4L Heterospathe minor 63 Opsiand'raMaya (L) 26,38&79 H. coria,cea(I) 73&223 Oranim appendiculata 206 Hyphaene crinita 72 Orbignya sp. rt5 136 PRINCIPES tVol. 15 Phoenicoph,oriu,mBorsigianum (I) 21, S. minor (I) L23&122 42,81,59&124 S. Palmetto 90 Phoenix canariensis (I) 34&39 S. paruit'lora(l) 22&5I P. d,actylifera 78 S. peregrina (L) 48&49 P, X macrocarpa 30 S. texana (I) 82,70&169 P. reclinata 67 S. Yapa (I) B2&I27 P. Roebelenii 38 Salacca conlerta 37 P. rupicola 114 S. .p. 33 P.sp.#1 12 Smahentia liukiuensis 70 P.sp.#2 47 Scheele,aLeand,roana 151 P.sp.#3 D/ S. phalerata 466 P. syluestris 36 S. Preussii (1,9) 86 & 304 P. zeylnnica 25 Siphokentia Beguinii lI7 Phytelephasmacrocarpa (I) 376 &I92 Socratea durissima 137 Pinanga Kuhlii (I) 45,66 & 36 S. exorhiza II2 P. rp. 183 Strongylocaryum sp. (FG 60-2580) 40 P.sp.W.S.#1 43 Syagrus carnpestris 135 Polyand,rococoscaud,escens 59 S. quinquelarin 63 Prestoea nlontana, 38 S, Sancona 77 P. tp. 26 S. "p. 5t Pritchardia Hillebrand,ii 40 Thrinax Morri.sii (I) 64&L79 P. pacilica (I) 46,77 &44 Trachycarpus Fortunei (l) 94&r52 P. .p. 46 T rithrinax acanthocoma 72 Pseudophoenix ainilera I78 Veitchia arecina 43 Ptychandra glauca 49 V. loannis (I) 30&42 Ptychococcusparadoxus (I\ 192 & 180 V. Merrillii (I) 30,51 & 35 Ptychosperma angustifolium. I57 I/. Montgomeryana(I\ 38,43,34,42, P. hospitum 61 46&88 P. Nicolai 94 Z. sp. (FG 57-650C) 35 P. rp. 370 V. sp. tFG 57-66BFl 30 Raph.ia Hoolteri 73 V. Winin (I) 33&26 ft. sp. (8) 209,237,243,545&619 Versclwlleltinsplendida (l) 38,52& 58 Reinhardtin gracilis 95 Wallichia sp. # I 184 R. gracilis var. gracilior (l) 88&64 W.sp.#2 230 Rhapis humilis (L) 125& 106 Wettinia quinaria 46 (L\ 57& 141 Rhopaloblaste elegans 35 Zombiaantillarum Rhopalostylis Baueri (l) 47,82&I29 Also: R. Cheesernanii 137 Unidentified Amazonian palm #r 77 (I) Rhyticocos omara 53&45 il ll #s 44 Roystonea princeps 34 il ilil #10 66 R. regia 119 Note: Some time ago a fellow came Sabal bermud,ana I37 into the nursery and handedme a bag of S. Blaclcburniana 99 palm seedand told me he had just come S. causiarum (I) 82,43&I07 from the Amazon the day before. The S. domingensis 4B seedswere all mixed up and I could see S. jamaicensis 37 11 different species. He didn't know S. rnexicana 4A anything about palms. 1971t KOEBERNIK: GERMINA'TION 137 Knv Hyphaene, and [/eitchia will germinate (1) more than one planting. in soil without much difficulty. (.2')Acrocomia mexicana440 days total; There is much variability in palm seed after removing from the hard shell, from the same in{lorescence, as noted in l3B days. Arenga Engleri. Is there any reason why (3') Acrocomia sclerocarpaB7B days; there should be a difference o{ 515 days after removing from the hard shell, in the germination o{ seed from the same 3?3 days. inflorescence?*" These seeds were fully (4) Arenga Engleri (I11, 506, 626') all mature and all planted together at the ' {rom the sameplanting and the same same time. inflorescence. A group ol Copernicia rndcroglossd seed with pericarp removed germinated (5) ChamaedoreaSeilrizii QA3, 220) divided seed in hal{, planted % in and the lear.es were in long curls. Seed muck and % in Perlite." 203 in of the same species without the thin pa- muck and 220 days in Perlite. per shell on them had straight leaves as (.6')Ceonoma mernbranacea 48 days in Sabal. Why would the thin shell make fresh seed,141 dried seed. a dif{erence such as this? (7) Hyphaenesp. (290,96) both plant- Scheelea Leand,raana serminated with ings were {resh seedfrom the same much conf usion. O{ the 157 seeds tree. planted 22 seeds germinated double, 8 (8) Raphia sp. old seed,all planted to- germinated triple, and 1 quadruple. gethel at the sametime. Multiple germination has been noted (.9)Scheelea Preussii (86, 304) all here, but nothing compared to this. from the same planting; 2 seeds It is my hope that sorne of the many germinatedat 86 days,no more un- so far unanswered questions may be til 304 days. resolved by members of The Palm So- ciety pooling their information on ger- One must recognize that there are mination. many variables which can affect germi- nation: temperature, type of planting ** August Braun suggests a reason in Prin- 'oA medium, humiditl'" and probably most cipes 12: 54, \968: most peculiar phe- of all, freshnessof the seed. We know nomenon and one typical for the palm family that palm seedshould be planted as soon is the delayed germination of the seed at cer- usu- as possibleafter maturity. tain intervals. Early-germinating seeds, ally few in numbers, are followed at intervals In southern Florida rve have found by more groups of germinating seeds. Fre- that seed appears to germinate more quently, but depending on the species, the rapidly and in greater numbers i{ second batch represents the majority o{ seed- planted in Perlite.