Homoiohydrous (recalcitrant) seeds: Developmental status, desiccation sensitivity and the state of water in axes of Landolphia kirkii Dyer.

The desiccation sensitivity in relation to the stage of development was investigated in embryonic axes from the homoiohydrous (recalcitrant) seeds of Landolphia kirkii. Electrolyte leakage, used to assess membrane damage after flash (very rapid) drying, indicated that axes from immature (non-germinable) seeds were the most desiccation-tolerant, followed by those from mature seeds, while axes from seeds germinated for increasing times were progressively more desiccation-sensitive. Differential scanning calorimetry was used to study the relationship between desiccation sensitivity and the properties of water in the tissues. Axes from immature seeds had a lower content of non-freezable water than that of any other developmental stage and a higher enthalpy of melting of freezable water. For mature and immature axes electrolyte leakage increased at the point of loss of freezable water. At other developmental stages the water content at which electrolyte leakage increased markedly correlated with the other properties of the water, such as the change in the shape of the melting endotherm and the onset temperature. Ultrastructural studies of axes at the various developmental stages showed changes in the degree and pattern of vacuolation, the presence and quantities of lipid and starch, and the degree of endomembrane development. The results are discussed in relation to current hypotheses on the basis of desiccation tolerance.