Relationships of Fruit and Seed Form, Size, Weight and Soundness of Graded Basswood Fruit
Many studies support a positive relationship between seed size and germination, height, weight, or other factors important to the survival and growth of seedlings. This study found that large seeds had the heavier embryos. Data on American basswood (Tilia americana L.) are scarce. Number per pound, size, weight, and soundness are given in seed manuals (10, 6, 7), nursery guidelines (6, 3, 5) and isolated studies (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 14). The fruit is nut-like, usually eggshaped or round, and, infrequently, onion-shaped or conical, or, if ribbed, pentagonal. The woody fruit husk (pericarp) usually encloses a single seed, but sometimes two or three. The seed has a crustaceous seed coat (testa) , a fleshy yellowish endosperm, and a welldeveloped embryo (16). Spaeth (12) was the first to tabulate detailed data on fruit having more than one seed. He differentiated weights, suggesting an effective relationship between fruit or seed size and weight. Information is absent on grading of fruit by size and weight governing the number of fruit and seed per pound.
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Author(s): George Stroempl
Publication: Tree Planters' Notes - Volume 19, Number 2 (1968)
Volume: 19
Number: 2