Vivipary in the Marlborough rock daisy, Pachystegia insignis (Asteraceae)

Abstract

Vivipary involves the germination of seeds prior to their dispersal from the parent plant. It requires seed dormancy to be absent and has only been recorded in a very small number of phylogenetically diverse higher plants of varying life forms from a wide range of habitats. This study confirms a lack of seed dormancy in the New Zealand native Marlborough rock daisy, Pachystegia insignis (Hook. f.) Cheeseman (Asteraceae). High frequencies of germination in P. insignis immediately following seed maturation are documented, as well as an instance of prolific vivipary. We provide experimental validation that, when achenes are retained in capitula, vivipary is induced in planta by wet conditions.