Geographic Source Differences Noted in Black Cherry Seed Weight, Germination

The Woody-Plant Seed Manual (USDA, 1948) is the recognized authority for seed characteristics, particularly for forest tree species. The manual reports that the yield of cleaned seed per pound for Prunus serotina Ehrh., the wild black cherry, ranges from a low of 3,100 to a high of 8,100 seeds. The average number of cleaned seeds per pound is the figure most frequently used in calculating nursery seedbed sowing rates and in direct seeding projects. The Manual, on the basis of 18 samples, reports the average for P. serotina as 4,800 seeds per pound. Germination, based on seven tests of 30 days duration, is reported to average 63 percent, ranging from 21 to 87 percent. This limited sample has been the basis for most references to seed size and germination in black cherry. Recently Cech and Kitzmiller (1968) added to the knowledge of black cherry seed characteristics. Seed collected from five trees in each of 33 stands, rejresenting the greater part of the nat-ural range of black cherry, were analyzed for seed weight, seed coat thickness, seed diameter, and correlations between seed characters and seedlings. Cech and Kitzmiller reported a range of 3.29 to 12.71 grams weight per 100 seeds based on 165 seedlots. The average was 8.01 grams per 100 seeds. These data are equivalent to 3,569 to 13,787 seeds per pound and an average of 5,661 seeds per pound. The smaller seeded samples were possibly collected from P. serotina var. alabamensis (Mohr) Little (Little, 1953). Inclusion of these varietal samples would tend to raise the numbers of seeds per pound.

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Author(s): John A. Pitcher, Donald E. Dorn

Publication: Tree Planters' Notes - Volume 23, Number 3 (1972)

Volume: 23

Number: 3