Seed germination requirements of relictic and broadly-distributed populations of Chaerophyllum aureum (Apiaceae): connecting ecophysiology and genetic identity

: The main goal of this work was to relate the germinative ecology and genetic variability of Chaerolhyllum aureum L., an Apiaceae plant with dormant, underdeveloped embryos at the time of seed dispersal. We compared the seed germination physiology traits between a relictic geographically isolated Mediterranean population (Iberian System; central Spain) and a population located in the main, colder Atlantic Alpine core (Pyrenees; northern Spain). We analyzed both populations’ genetic identity in parallel on the basis of ISSR–PCR analyses. Stratification, gibberellin treatment, and seed storage tests showed that C. aureum seeds have deep complex morphophysiological dormancy.