Seed germination reports of four rare species of the Western Alps

This study describes germination protocols of four Western Alps endemics. The species studied are: Berardia lanuginosa, Potentilla valderia, Silene cordifolia, and Tephroseris balbisiana. Seeds were collected in the Maritime Alps (Cuneo, Italy) and conserved for a few days in the herbarium chamber or in the drying room of the seed bank before submitting to germination test. The germination tests were carried out in the Piedmont Germplasm Bank. Our results show a high germination response for all the analyzed species.