Germination behavior in some Sicilian species of the Euphorbia genus

Our work concerns the requirements for germination in five Euphorbia species, occurring in uncultivated wet grounds, roadsides, montane pastures or deciduous broadleaf woods. The study taxa are Euphorbia ceratocarpa, E. gasparrinii subsp. gasparrinii, E. hirsuta, E. meuselii, and E. platyphyllos. Seeds were collected from wild populations both in lowland and mountain areas of Eastern Sicily, at the time of natural dispersal. The germination ability was tested under constant and alternating temperatures, both in light and total dark, at the Catania Germplasm Bank (BGS-CT). The best germination protocols for each species are provided. Specifically, germination response was strongly limited by constant thermal regimes (except for E. gasparrinii) and, conversely, improved by fluctuating temperatures, under darkness, in all the study species. E. gasparrinii and E. platyphyllos reached high germination values also in the light.