Role of trichomes and pericarp in the seed biology of the desert annual Lachnoloma lehmannii (Brassicaceae)

In many angiosperms, the fruit rather than the seed is the dispersal/germination unit, and this is the case with Lachnoloma lehmannii, a desert annual ephemeral in central southwestern Asia with indehiscent nonmucilaginuous silicles covered with trichomes. The primary aim of this study was to assess the role of trichomes and pericarp in dispersal, anchorage of diaspores, and seed germination of this species. Mature silicles are dispersed by wind and gravity, and trichomes not only significantly increased their dispersal distance, adherence to sandy soil particles, mass of water imbibed and moisture content, but also decreased the rate of water loss and moisture content of seeds. A significantly higher percentage of seeds within silicles than of isolated seeds retained viability after exposure to 60 °C for 24 h. Seed dormancy is due to the pericarp and to nondeep physiological dormancy, as shown by the increase in germination percentage of isolated seeds following dry storage and treatment with GA₃. Removal of pericarp increased germination of 6-month-old seeds from 0 to 80–90 %, and leachate from both pericarp and trichomes significantly inhibited germination of isolated seeds. Ninety-five percent of seeds within silicles buried in soil for 2 years were viable, but only 28 % of them germinated in light at 15/2 °C; thus L. lehmannii forms a persistent soil seed bank. The pericarp and its trichomes may maximize plant fitness by determining the settlement location of silicles, thus helping to ensure that seeds germinate during the cool season for seedling survival in the desert environment.