Ethan Romanchak Reports

Alani (Melicope knudsenii)

May 24, 2004

I received ~50 seeds and broke them into two groups for two different trials.

I scarified (using sandpaper) all of the seeds, then soaked half of them in coconut water for 24 hrs. and the other half in tap water for 24 hrs. The coconut water was simply prepared from a fresh young coconut. The use of coconut milk/water is common in the preparation of media for tissue culture as unspecified amino acids and plant hormones are present in the rich liquid endosperm.

The seeds were then rinsed in a very dilute bleach solution and planted shallow in a flat of Sunshine Mix #1. This flat has been kept moist in 50% shade in Kula.

As of 5 months, I have had no germination. (Though I received the seeds more than 5 months ago it took a little while to plant them) A few of the seeds seem to have rotted, though many are still solid, slightly swollen and look good.
I will give them more time and report when germination occurs.

Any questions or comments…please email me at : eromanch@hawaii.edu

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