Croton alabamensis var. texensis (97) --- Sample--Stanford-1

“Dove weed” but this species is a shrub that can be greater than two meters high. Ginzbarg, named the variety found in Travis and Coryell counties, Croton alabamensisvar. texensis. Dr. Jack Stanford of Howard Payne University collected it on Fort Hood. He noted that many germinated in an area after a fire. He also established the shrub on his property in Brownwood, Texas by digging up seedlings. He has not been able to get the seeds to germinate. Seeds were collected in late 2015 in capsules and seeds were removed by hand and counted. We are hypothesizing that the smoke treatment, cold stratification, and no light would promote germination.

TREATMENTS:RESULTS % germination

17 cold/smoke/dark

20 cold/smoke/light

20 cold/no smoke

20 no cold/ smoke

20 no cold/ no smoke

Cold prep:

57 seeds

  1. Place seeds in disk of filter paper, fold and then wrap with cheese cloth
  2. Soak in 5 g/L Captan fungicide for 1 minute
  3. Place bundles in plastic container containing a mixture of 15g moisten sphagnum moss + 220g of sand
  4. Keep in light or dark for 1-2 months at 4C/39F

Smoke/light prep:

57 seeds, 37 from cold treatment (17 in dark, 20 in light), 20 with no cold treatment

  1. Moisten filter paper (9 total) with hickory smoke seasoning (1:100 Smoke;DI Water, mL)
  2. Line 3 petri dishes with three layers of the pre-moistened filter paper and set aside 2 pertri dishes
  3. Place the appropriate amount of seeds into each dish (20 from cold treated into one and 20 from not cold treated into another). Wrap in parafilm.
  4. For seeds treated in the dark, completely wrap the petri dish in foil (1 dish, 17 seeds)
  5. Let sit for 21 days

Chelonelyonni (440) --- Sample 150RA

Commonly called turtlehead, because of its large, bilabiate flowers, its closest relative in the Edwards Plateau is beardtongue (Penstemon spp.). It was collected by Allan Nelson in the early 1990s from wetlands in eastern North America. Many types of wetlands are maintained by fire and based on observations of plants grown in the greenhouse, we hypothesize that cold and no light are needed. Smoke treatment has never been examined. Seeds were removed from capsules by hand and counted.

TREATMENTS:RESULTS % germination

50 Cold/Smoke/Light

50 Cold/Smoke/No Light

50 Cold/No Smoke/Light

50 Cold/No Smoke/No Light

50 No Cold/Smoke/Light

50 No Cold/Smoke/No Light

50 No Cold/No Smoke/Light

50 No Cold/No Smoke/No Light

Cold Prep:

220 seeds (20 extra)

  1. Place seeds in disk of filter paper, fold and then wrap with cheese cloth
  2. Soak in 5 g/L Captan fungicide for 1 minute
  3. Place bundles in plastic container containing a mixture of 15g moisten sphagnum moss + 220g of sand

Smoke/light Prep:

200 seeds, 100 from cold treatment (50 in light, 50 in dark), 100 from not cold treatment (50 in light, 50 in dark)

  1. Moisten filter paper with of hickory smoke seasoning (1:100 Smoke;DI Water, mL)
  2. Line petri dishes with three layers of the pre-moistened filter paper
  3. Place the appropriate amount of seeds into each dish (50). Wrap in parafilm.
  4. For seeds treated in the dark, completely wrap the petri dish in foil
  5. Let sit for 21 days

Asclepiasasperula (177) --- Sample--Nelson-1 and A. tuberosa(210)—Sample Horticulture Center 1

Antelope horn and Butterfly milkweed are the respective common names of the two samples listed above. Antelope horns isfrom the shape of the follicle and butterflies pollinate and feed on the leaves of many milkweeds. Antelope horns have cream colored flowers while butterfly milkweed is orange. Both occur in the Edwards Plateau with Antelope horns being more common. One sample was collected along County Road 433 in Mills County by Allan Nelson from open follicles. Comose pubescence was removed and the seeds counted. Butterfly milkweed seeds were obtained by Emily Lansmon from the Horticulture Center at Tarleton State University. Both were cold treated according to methods provided by Native American seeds in Junction, Texas. Last year, we obtained the following data regarding antelope horn:

4/9/2015 Removed Bermuda (Cynodondactylon) by spading and sorting out rhizomes by hand. Planted 30 antelope horn and 30 butterfly milkweed

4/18/2015 Weeded Bermuda and some forbs. Amaranthussp. was common

6/25/2015 Three butterfly milkweed germinated but no antelope horn.

7/15/2015 Two of the three butterfly milkweed were consumed by grasshoppers

7/25/2015 Two new butterfly milkweed germinated

8/6/2015 Three total butterfly milkweed with the older one flowering

9/6/2015 Three butterfly milkweed with buds or flowers

10/6/2015 Three flowering but no fruits.

11/6/2015 Plants dormant due to frost and cold

  1. Mix seeds with pre-chilled distilled water and let soak for 24 hours
  2. Pour seeds into strainer and rinse with distilled water
  3. Moisten vermiculite with distilled water
  4. Mix vermiculite with seeds
  5. Seal container and store in fridge for 30-45 days (35-45F, 1-7C)
  6. Plant when soil temperature is warm
  7. Plant two different samples by broadcasting vermiculite/seed mixture over the surface of soil in a large tub and cover with a few mm of soil

RESULTS % germination

Asclepiasasperula (177)

A. tuberosa(210)

Day of placing seeds in petrie dishes:

1. Presoak filter paper in smoke infused distilled water (10 ml/90 ml)

2. Presoak filter paper in smoke infused distilled water

3. Make labels on index cards: cold, no cold, smoke-infused water, distilled water