Poecilanthe parviflora is a tree with a good potential for revegetation and ornamental purposes. The objective of this research was to determine the best temperatures for the germination test. The work took place during 2005 and was conducted at the UNESP, Campus de Jaboticabal, Jaboticabal, São Paulo state, Brazil. Two experiments were conducted, simultaneously. The first one used the lot termed JABOTICABAL that was submitted to the germination test under different constant temperatures of 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 ºC and alternate temperatures of 20-30, 25-35, and 20-35 ºC. The second one used the lots termed USM, SEMEX and JABOTICABAL that were submitted to the constant temperatures of 25 ºC and alternate temperatures of 20-30 ºC, at a photoperiod of 12 hours. Four replications of 25 seeds each were used for both experiments. Primary root protrusion (> 0,5 cm) was adopted as criterion of germination. The following parameters were evaluated: germination, speed germination index, seedling length, fresh matter and dry matter of seedlings. The experiment was set according to a completely random design and the means were compared through the Scott-Knott test at the 5% level of probability. Either a constant temperature of 25 ºC or the alternate temperatures of 25-35 ºC were found to be the best ones for the germination test.
forest seeds; coração-de-negro; temperature; physiological quality
