BASKIN, JERRY M.* AND CAROL C. BASKIN. School of Biological Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0225 and School of Biological Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0225 and Department of Agronomy, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546-0091. - Seed dormancy in relation to endocarp anatomy in Anacardiaceae.
Information in the literature was used to determine seed (true seed +
endocarp) dormancy types in Anacardiaceae, and the results were
examined in relation to published accounts of endocarp anatomy in this
family. Reports on both seed germination and endocarp anatomy were
found for seven genera in tribe Spondideae, five in tribe Anacardieae,
14 in tribe Rhoeae, and none in the two smallest tribes in the family,
Dobineeae and Semecarpeae. In Spondideae (Spondias-type
endocarp), seeds were either nondormant (ND) or had physiological
dormancy (PD), and in Anacardieae (Anacardium-type endocarp)
they were mostly ND. In Rhoeae (Anacardium-type Rhoeae groups
A, B, C, and D endocarps), on the other hand, seeds were ND or had
physical dormancy (PY), PD, or both (PY + PD). PY in this tribe seems
to be restricted to genera (e.g., Cotinus, Rhus) with an
Anacardium-type Rhoeae Group A endocarp (sensu Wannan,
B. S. and C. J. Quinn. 1990. Botanical Journal of the Linnean
Society 102: 225-252). However, seeds of other genera (e.g.,
Astronium, Schinus) with this type of endocarp and those
with Rhoeae Group B (e.g., Pistacia), Group C
(e.g., Pentaspadon), and Group D (e.g.,
Heeria) endocarps (sensu Wannan and Quinn, 1990; von
Teichman and van Wyk. 1996. Botanical Journal of the Linnean
Society 122: 335-352) are either ND or have PD. The fossil fruit
record strongly suggests that seeds of Anacardiaceae with PY
(Rhus: Rhoeae) and PD (the extinct genus Pentoperculum:
Spondideae) extend back to at least the middle Eocene.
Key words: Anacardiaceae, endocarp anatomy, fossil seeds (endocarps), seed dormancy, water-impermeable endocarp, water-permeable endocarp