title: Ex situ germination as a method for seed viability assessment in a peatland orchid, Platanthera blephariglottis.
abstract: •
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Assessing seed quality in orchids has been hindered by stringent germination requirements. Seed quality has traditionally been assessed in orchids using in vitro or in situ germination protocols or viability staining. However, these methods are not always well suited for rapid assessment of viability in the context of ecological studies.•
  
  
  METHODS
  The potential of an ex situ protocol for seed viability assessment of orchids in ecological studies was investigated by sowing seeds of Platanthera blephariglottis on Sphagnum moss collected in the orchid's natural habitat. Ex situ germination results were compared with those obtained by viability staining using triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC), and the effect of seed testa color on staining and germination results was investigated.•
  
  
  RESULTS
  The ex situ protocol yielded high germination rates, with 66% of the seeds germinating after 9 wk. Depending on the seed testa color class, ex situ germination rates were about 1.4 to 2.5 times higher than viability rates determined using TTC, indicating that the TTC technique underestimated viability compared with the method using ex situ germination. The TTC estimates of viability rates were higher for seeds with dark-colored testae than for pale ones, whereas seed testa color had no effect on germination.•
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study showed promising results for the use of ex situ germination as an alternative to previously developed protocols for seed viability assessment of orchids in ecological studies. Staining using TTC might not be well suited for this purpose, since it introduced a bias with respect to seed testa color.
authors.affiliation: Université Laval, Pavillon Paul-Comtois, Faculté des sciences de l'agriculture et de l'alimentation, Département de phytologie, 2425 rue de l'Agriculture, Québec, QC, Canada, G1V 0A6 Québec Centre for Biodiversity Science, McGill University, 19 1205 Dr. Penfield Avenue, Montréal, QC, Canada, H3A 1B1.
authors.forename: Marc-André
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Lemay
authors.affiliation: Université Laval, Pavillon Paul-Comtois, Faculté des sciences de l'agriculture et de l'alimentation, Département de phytologie, 2425 rue de l'Agriculture, Québec, QC, Canada, G1V 0A6 Québec Centre for Biodiversity Science, McGill University, 19 1205 Dr. Penfield Avenue, Montréal, QC, Canada, H3A 1B1.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: De Vriendt
authors.affiliation: Institut de recherche en biologie végétale, Jardin botanique de Montréal, Université de Montréal, 4101 Sherbrooke Est, Montréal, QC, Canada, H1X 2B2 Québec Centre for Biodiversity Science, McGill University, 19 1205 Dr. Penfield Avenue, Montréal, QC, Canada, H3A 1B1.
authors.forename: Stéphanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pellerin
authors.affiliation: Université Laval, Pavillon Paul-Comtois, Faculté des sciences de l'agriculture et de l'alimentation, Département de phytologie, 2425 rue de l'Agriculture, Québec, QC, Canada, G1V 0A6 Québec Centre for Biodiversity Science, McGill University, 19 1205 Dr. Penfield Avenue, Montréal, QC, Canada, H3A 1B1.
authors.forename: Monique
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Poulin
mesh_terms: D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D004463:Ecology / Q000379:methods*; D018525:Germination; D029595:Orchidaceae / Q000254:growth & development*; D011792:Quebec; D012639:Seeds / Q000254:growth & development
keywords: Orchidaceae; Platanthera blephariglottis; bogs; ex situ germination; orchid ecology; orchid germination; orchid seeds; triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC); viability staining