PJB-2023-526
Comparison of the phenotypic characteristics and effects of germination under drought stress of seed from five Clematis species in northwestern China
Zhu Zhu
Abstract
Facing the increasing severity of urban drought, it is of great significance to use native wild plants with excellent drought resistance for urban greening. Clematis tangutica, Clematis glauca, Clematis intricata, Clematis nannophylla and Clematis fruticosa are widely distributed species in the arid and semi-arid regions of northwest China, known for their ornamental characteristics. C. tangutica, C. glauca and C. intricata belong to Clematis sect. Meclatis, and C. fruticosa and C. nannophylla belong to sect. Fruticella. The phenotypic characteristics of the fruits and seeds of the five species were observed, including fruit length (FL), fruit width (FW), the number of achene in each fruit (AN), achene length (AL), achene width (AW), achene thickness (AT), pappus length (PL), thousand-seed weight (TSW). The moisture contents (MC) of seeds were investigated using the BP method, and the water imbibition experiment were conducted for 24 hours. The germination experiment was carried out to observe the germination behavior under different polyethylene glycol (PEG) stress (0%, 5%, 10%, and 15%). The result showed that significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) in FL, FW, AN, AL, AW, AT, PL, TSW, MC and imbibition of seeds among the species. The seeds of sect. Meclatis were more numerous, smaller, lighter, had longer pappus and lower MC compared to those of sect. Fruticella. As the PEG stress increased, larger seeds with higher moisture content exhibited weaker germination behavior and longer germination time. The seeds from sect. Meclatis demonstrated a stronger germination ability to drought stress. Among them, C. tangutica showed the strongest adaptability to urban drought and was the most suitable for urban greening in arid areas.
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