Physiology of germination in Bauhinia: involvement of seed coat in inhibition of germination in B. racemosa Lam. seeds.

Seeds of B. racemosa exhibited coat-imposed dormancy with only 38% germination during the 16-day period examined. Improvement in the germinability of seeds was accomplished by soaking seeds in hot water and through mechanical scarification, resulting in 68% and 98% germination, respectively as well as considerably decreasing germination time. Data indicated that the seed coat did not act as a mechanical restraint to embryo growth but did prevent water entry to the seed. Therefore B. racemosa seeds should be sown after mechanical scarification for quick and uniform germination.