Maturation and Germination of Seeds of Ilex opaca

Germination of seeds of Ilex in nature requires from one to three years, and the percentage of germination is about one in ten million. 2. Natural germination is not confined to hydrophytic conditions, as has usually been claimed, but occurs as well in mesophytic situations. 3. Stratification of the seeds is unnecessary. 4. There is no after-ripening. 5. Germination is impossible with pericarps intact. 6. The pericarps can be removed by drying the seeds for six hours in the oven at 40⚬ C. and then cutting away. 7 A 5 per cent solution of dextrose is an efficient forcing agent. 8. The permeability of the seed coats to sugar can be increased by treating with dilute KOH solutions, which act upon the suberized tegmen. 9. A sugary substratum kept moist with tap water produced hypocotyl protrusion in about five months