M. Thilina R. Fernando

University of Kelaniya · Department of Plant and Molecular Biology

In flowering plants, shifts from outcrossing to partial or complete self-fertilization have occurred independently thousands of times, yet the underlying adaptive processes are difficult to discern. Selfing's ability to provide reproductive assurance when pollination is uncertain is an oft-cited ecological explanation for its evolution, but this be...

Character displacement is a potentially important process driving trait evolution and species diversification. Floral traits may experience character displacement in response to pollinator-mediated competition (ecological character displacement) or the risk of forming hybrids with reduced fitness (reproductive character displacement). We test these...

Flowering plants show an extraordinary diversity, especially in their reproductive structures. Among floral traits, variation in flower color is the most noticeable one to the human eye and is a striking feature of many angiosperm species. Once a color polymorphism has arisen in a population, it may be maintained either through adaptive processes l...

Abstract: Livistona rotundifolia (Lam.) Mart. is an ornamentally important plant in Sri Lanka with a high demand for both cut foliage and pot plant production for the foreign market. Propagation through seeds, poor germination and the storage of seeds are the main constraints in L. rotundifolia cultivation. During the current study, seed germinatio...

Abstract: Magnolia champaca is a culturally important tree in the tropics with a high commercial value. Its natural regeneration is rare. Hence, the species is usually propagated from seeds but with great difficulties. The class of dormancy in M. champaca seeds has been reported to be physical, physiological, and morphological. Their storage behavi...

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the dormancy break and germination requirements of seeds from the rhamnaceous vine Berchemia scandens. The fleshy fruit contains a two-locular stone with an endocarp described as 'bony, thickish'. Scarified and non-scarified stones increased by about 30 – 50% in mass during imbibition over a 24-h...

Nondormancy, three of the five classes of dormancy and orthodox and recalcitrant storage behavior occur in seeds of Fabaceae. The aim of the study was to characterize whole-seed dormancy and storage behavior in seeds of three tropical species of Derris (Fabaceae), which are lianas. Seed moisture content (MC); effects of drying and low temperature o...

The aim of our study was to study the dormancy type and storage behavior of Michelia champaca, since the information available on seed germination and dormancy of M. champaca is incomplete. Seeds were collected from numerous M. champaca trees located in University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Moisture content of fresh and one-month dry-stored seeds wa...