ABSTRACT
How long a seed can remain alive varies greatly from the short-lived seeds of food crops to the long-lived seeds of weeds and wild plants. According to Quick (1), seed longevity is an ecological characteristic of a plant as well as a morphological and biochemical one. Plants (particularly woody plants) characteristic of arid climates have in general longer lived seeds than do plants from tropical or humid-temperate habitats. Seeds of Leguminosae, including those of the species of Mimosaceae, are long lived with a marked tendency for longevity. Other plant families that have greater than average proportions of species with exceptionally long-lived seeds include the palms, cannas, waterlilies (lotuses), spurges, soapberries, buckthorns, mallows, and morning glories. Within a single plant species, varieties and strains with somewhat different genetic constitutions may vary in germination and longevity.
