Effects of the Preserved Peel on the Seed Germination and Seedling Growth of Ardisia violacea

In order to understand the effect of exocarp removal on the seed germination and seedling growth of Ardisia violacea which was a rare and endangered plant, two treatments, peeled and unpeeled, were set up with four replicates to study the seed germination and growth traits of Ardisia violacea. The results showed that the emergence time of the unpeeled seeds of Ardisia violacea was delayed by 19 days, which was significantly later than that of the peeled seeds (P<0.05); The seed emergence rate was 70.3%-75.6%, and there was no significant difference between the unpeeled and peeled seeds (P>0.05); The growth of Ardisia violacea seedlings showed an ″S-shaped″ curve of ″slow-fast-slow″. By the end of the growth, the plant height, ground diameter, leaf length and leaf width were respectively in the range of 5.32 to 5.34 cm, 0.12 to 0.13 cm, 4.40 to 4.96 cm, 2.08 to 2.12 cm, and the number of leaves ranged from 13.4 to 14.8, so there was no significant difference between the unpeeled and peeled treatments (P>0.05). In conclusion, the existence of pericarp had no significant effect on the germination and seedling growth of Ardisia violacea, and the seedlings could be directly sown.