BIOMORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF HIBISCUS LUDWIGII ECKL. & ZEYH. SEEDS

Within studies of diaspores formed by introduced plants in the greenhouse of the Botanical Garden of Samara University, the quality of Hibiscus ludwigii seeds was studied. The paper presents information for 11 years on morphometry, humidity, thousand seed weight, the number of defective seeds in samples and their germination. Depending on the year of harvest, the length of the seeds varied from 1.47 to 4.06 mm, the average length of the seeds was 3.30 mm; the width of the seeds varied from 0.87 to 2.92 mm, the average width was 1.93 mm. Thousand seed weight varied in the range from 12.01 to 13.63 g, the average thousand seed weight was 12.94 g. After air-dry storage, the moisture content in the seeds varied in the range from 5.64 to 7.51 %. According to the obtained X-ray images of seeds for each year of the study, defective seeds were counted in each sample. The proportion of defective seeds varied from 0 to 23.21 % in different years. Seeds with the following defects were identified: shrivelled, fracturing, peeling of the shell. There were no signs of pest colonization or damage to the seeds. To check the viability of the seeds, they were sown in Petri dishes. The first signs of seed germination were noted on the second day after the experiment. Seed germination varied depending on the time of harvest from 8 to 88%. The seeds of the 2022 harvest year rose most amicably, the seeds of 2014, 2015 and 2017 did not germinate at all. H. ludwigii undergoes a generative stage in the greenhouse of the Botanical Garden of Samara University and stably forms full-fledged seeds that can be used for Index Seminum. Based on the conducted research, we recommend using only seeds with a harvest period of less than 2 years for seed exchange and planting.