Scarification (botany)
Encyclopedia
Scarification in botany
involves cutting the seed coat using abrasion, thermal stress, or chemicals to encourage germination
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of many species' seeds. This process involves the breaching of the natural seed coating by mechanical, thermal or microbial methods. While this process occurs naturally in the wild, humans have developed techniques to emulate the natural processes for some seeds used in cultivation. In the case of chaparral
plant communities, many species' seeds require fire scarification to achieve germination; an exception to that phenomenon is Western poison oak, whose thick seed coatings provide a time delayed effect for germination, but do not require fire scarification.
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
involves cutting the seed coat using abrasion, thermal stress, or chemicals to encourage germination
Germination
Germination is the process in which a plant or fungus emerges from a seed or spore, respectively, and begins growth. The most common example of germination is the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm. However the growth of a sporeling from a spore, for example the...
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In botany
Scarification is a natural process important for germinationGermination
Germination is the process in which a plant or fungus emerges from a seed or spore, respectively, and begins growth. The most common example of germination is the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm. However the growth of a sporeling from a spore, for example the...
of many species' seeds. This process involves the breaching of the natural seed coating by mechanical, thermal or microbial methods. While this process occurs naturally in the wild, humans have developed techniques to emulate the natural processes for some seeds used in cultivation. In the case of chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
plant communities, many species' seeds require fire scarification to achieve germination; an exception to that phenomenon is Western poison oak, whose thick seed coatings provide a time delayed effect for germination, but do not require fire scarification.