Abstract
Various terms have been suggested to describe the delay in release of mature seeds from the mother plant (Lamont et al. 1991). Michaux (1803) and Engelmann (1880) described serotiny (“serotinus” = late in occurrence) as the retention of seeds in temporarily or permanently-closed cones. The term serotiny has, however, become associated with the phenomenon where seeds are retained in cones that require fire to release their seeds. Fuel loads in true deserts are seldom high enough for fires to be a key environmental parameter and for this reason the term serotiny will not be used in this book.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1999 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
van Rheede van Oudtshoorn, K., van Rooyen, M.W. (1999). Restriction of Dispersal in Time. In: Dispersal Biology of Desert Plants. Adaptations of Desert Organisms. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-03561-0_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-03561-0_8
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-08439-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-662-03561-0
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive