Germination of up to 129-year old, dry-stored seeds of Geranium bohemicum (Geraniaceae)

Old dry-stored seeds of the annual pyrophyte Geranium bohemicum from seed collections and herbaria were tested to determine their germinability. Ten samples of seed, ranging in age from 3 to 200 years, were used. The oldest seeds to germinate (three out of ten) were from a 129-year old collection. All three seedlings developed into healthy plants. This finding supports the assumption that G bohemicum can emerge from a bank of long-lived seeds after forest fires.