Seed biology of selected heath vegetation species of Terengganu

Abstract

Seeds are varied in their morphology, physiology and adaptations to its environment, in order to maintain their viability. The study was conducted in heath vegetation of Setiu and Rantau A bang, Terengganu to investigate seed biology of heath vegetation species. In total, seeds of 14 plant species representing 10 families were collected. Seeds were determined its fresh moisture content and tested for fresh germination percentage. Descriptive morphological data of seed were documented and compared between species. Weight of collected seeds was in the range of 0.3 - 1.5 mg. Majority of collected seeds (78%) could be classified as small seeds with weight ranging between 0.3 - 0.5 mg. The remaining seeds can be grouped in medium and large seed classes. The heaviest seed was an unidentified species (UMT 1) with 1.52 ± 0.21 mg (mean±SD), and the lightest seed was Breynia corona/a (Euphorbiaceae), 0.03 ± 0.0 I mg.