Responses of seeds of <i>Pinus virginiana</i> to light

Abstract

The responses to light of lettuce and Lepidium seeds depend on the reversible red, far-red photoreaction (3,5). These light-sensitive seeds are rather small in comparison with seeds of several species of southern pines reported by Nelson (4) to be stimulated to germinate by light. The current experiments were conducted to determine whether seeds of Pinus virginiana respond to the reversible red, far-red photoreaction in the same way as lettuce and Lepidiunm seeds, and how the responses are modified by temperature and condition of imbibition.