| Summary: | Globally, biodiversity is declining, meaning that many endemic plants are under threat; therefore, it is essential to develop conservation strategies. <i>Scutellaria indica</i> var. <i>coccinea</i> has great potential as an ornamental ground cover plant, but it is a plant that requires ex situ conservation. This study was conducted in order to investigate the seed germination characteristics and classify the dormancy type of <i>S. indica</i> var. <i>coccinea</i> seeds, with the aim of developing mass propagation protocols for ex situ conservation and preservation of their genetic diversity. Fresh and mature seeds of <i>S. indica</i> var. <i>coccinea</i> are in a dormant state, which is released by low temperatures during winter, resulting in radicle and seedling emergence the following spring. At the time of dispersal, the seeds had fully developed embryos, and the seed coat was permeable. When the seeds were incubated under four different temperature regimes (4, 15/6, 20/10, or 25/15 °C), they showed a low germination percentage (≤20%), indicating that a substantial proportion of the seeds remained in a dormant state. In the cold stratification experiment (0, 4, 8, or 12 weeks at 4 °C), germination increased, and the time required for germination shortened as the duration of cold treatment lengthened. This suggests that low temperatures are the primary environmental signal that induces germination. In the gibberellic acid (GA<sub>3</sub>) treatment (GA<sub>3</sub> 0, 10, 100, or 1000 mg·L<sup>−1</sup>), relatively high concentrations (100 and 1000 mg·L<sup>−1</sup>) were effective in promoting germination. The highest germination was obtained in GA<sub>3</sub> 1000 mg·L<sup>−1</sup> with 100.0%, which is about 7 times higher than the control (13.6%). Therefore, seeds of <i>S. indica</i> var. <i>coccinea</i> were classified as having non-deep physiological dormancy (PD). Additionally, because the minimum germinable temperature range of the seeds was extended to lower temperatures, the seeds were classified as having type 2 non-deep PD.
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