Improving Germination of Allium tricoccum: a Plant Threatened by Foraging Trends

Abstract

Recent foraging trends in North America are endangering ramps, Allium tricoccum, which are a wild leek. Ramps germinate and grow more slowly than they are being foraged, which has led to a call for protection of the species in many states. In addition, they need a warm, moist period followed by a cold period to break out of dormancy. The goal was to find conditions for faster seed germination by scarring Allium tricoccum seeds with sulfuric acid and adjusting time in certain temperature environments. It was found that scarified seeds which spent 10 weeks in an environment of 20 degrees Celsius had percent germination similar to un-scarified seeds which received the same temperature treatment. Temperature and time were the important determining factors in seed germination for Allium tricoccum, not scarification. Further research may be done in the future.