Recalcitrant seeds: a review

Abstract

Recalcitrant seeds have high water content and lose viability once they are dried to a moisture content below a relatively high critical value. Even when maintaining an adequate water content these seeds are short-lived with a life span of some months or even weeks, depending on the species. This review presents a brief list of recalcitrant species, storage recommendations and papers that studied the causes of recalcitrant seed behaviour.