Attributes of Naturally Fallen (Rained) <i>Melaleuca quinquenervia</i> Seeds in Two Habitat Types of South Florida Wetlands

Abstract

<i> Melaleuca quinquenervia </i> is an Australian tree that has successfully invaded many habitats in Florida. It maintains an aerial seed bank in serotinous capsular fruits held in the tree canopies. These fruits open gradually and shed seeds that fall (rain) throughout the year. Comparative attributes (quantities and qualities) of these fallen seeds from different habitats and tree size categories are unknown. We documented these attributes of fallen <i> M. quinquenervia </i> seeds for 12 months among three tree size categories from each of the two hydrologically delineated habitat types. Quantities (8961 seeds m 2 &middot;mo - 1 ) and the viability (8.8%) and germinability (8.4%) of fallen melaleuca seeds in the occasionally inundated habitat were significantly higher ( <i> P </i> = 0.05) than the quantities (6716 seeds m 2 &middot;mo - 1 ), and viability (5.6%) and germinability (5.3%) of melaleuca seeds in the permanently inundated habitat. Although relatively more seeds rained from larger trees, higher quality seeds were rained from the trees of smaller dimensions. Smaller trees typically inhabit at the edges of melaleuca stands and hence they may increase the potential for further spread of seeds into the adjacent areas.