Germination of 10 midland plant species from the eastern Mediterranean Basin: Effects of smoke, syringaldehyde, karrikinolide, and cyanohydrin

The beneficial effects of smoke and its constituents, karrikinolide (KAR1) and cyanohydrin glyceronitrile, on the germination of Mediterranean lowland species are well-documented. However, very little is known about the role of these signals on the germination of plants at higher altitudes. In addition, lignin-derived chemicals, such as syringaldehyde (SAL), have recently been proposed as overlooked cues for smoke-induced germination. To address these gaps in the literature, we investigated the effects of smoke-water and SAL on the germination of 10 midland species growing on serpentine soils. We also sought to determine whether SAL interacts with KAR1 and/or mandelonitrile (MAN, a cyanohydrin) to enhance seed germination. The results show that smoke-water significantly improved the germination of three species (Barbarea duralii, Digitalis cariensis, and Turritis laxa). SAL, on the other hand, had no positive effect on the germination of the 10 species tested. Furthermore, three smoke-s..., , , # Germination of 10 midland plant species from the eastern Mediterranean Basin: effects of smoke, syringaldehyde, karrikinolide, and cyanohydrin

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.3tx95x6qh](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.3tx95x6qh)

**Description of the data and file structure**

The datasets are associated with three germination experiments and the mean seed mass of 10 species studied. The datasets are organized into four files in .txt format.

The first data file (Germination_data_smoke) contains three replicates of germination percentages for each smoke-water treatment per species. The treatment codes represent the concentration of each smoke-water (SW0 = 0% (v/v) smoke-water; SW1 = 1% (v/v) smoke-water; SW5 = 5% (v/v) smoke-water; SW10 = 10% (v/v) smoke-water).

The second data file (Germination_data_sal) contains three replicates of germination percentages for each syringaldehyde (SAL, a compound found in smoke-water) treatment per species. The treatment codes represent the concentrat...