This year, following a cool, wet spring and a hot, dry summer, a pumpkin plant appeared on our Littleton, Colorado, farm. Not a surprising event, one might think, but we have not planted pumpkins here for at least 23 years!
The lone plant is growing in an area where we once had a pumpkin patch and is clearly the product of a long dormant seed. While most pumpkin seeds germinate easily, given proper conditions, this one remained dormant for either exogenous or endogenous reasons; the former refers to inadequate moisture, heat or nutrients (or an unusually dense seed coat that did not allow essential ingredients to reach the seed embryo) while the latter indicates abnormalities or inhibitors within the embryo itself. This year, proper conditions and a receptive seed led to germination.
Seed dormancy is common in the plant world, preventing germination when environmental conditions do not favor survival or when over-crowding would result if all seeds germinated. Dormant seeds that are hundreds or even thousands of years old have been discovered in nature but our 23+ year-old pumpkin plant is impressive enough for me!
The lone plant is growing in an area where we once had a pumpkin patch and is clearly the product of a long dormant seed. While most pumpkin seeds germinate easily, given proper conditions, this one remained dormant for either exogenous or endogenous reasons; the former refers to inadequate moisture, heat or nutrients (or an unusually dense seed coat that did not allow essential ingredients to reach the seed embryo) while the latter indicates abnormalities or inhibitors within the embryo itself. This year, proper conditions and a receptive seed led to germination.
Seed dormancy is common in the plant world, preventing germination when environmental conditions do not favor survival or when over-crowding would result if all seeds germinated. Dormant seeds that are hundreds or even thousands of years old have been discovered in nature but our 23+ year-old pumpkin plant is impressive enough for me!
