IN-VITRO PROPAGATION OF WESTERN-AUSTRALIAN RUSHES (RESTIONACEAE AND RELATED FAMILIES) BY EMBRYO CULTURE .1. MICROPROPAGATION

Micropropagation of 21 species of Restionaceae and the closely related monotypic families Anarthriaceae and Ecdeiocoleaceae is discussed. Mu ltiplication rates ranged from 2-fold to 14-fold each 4-6 week subcult ure passage, with most species averaging 3-5-fold. The majority of tax a preferred half-strength Murashige and Skoog basal media with 1 mu M benzyladenine, with certain species requiring other specific treatment s (e.g. Woody Plant medium). Approximately half of the species produce d roots successfully (i.e. >50%) in vitro on half-strength MS with no growth regulators (or no auxins), or initiated roots after transfer to soil; other species required a longer (6-7 week) incubation on quarte r-strength MS medium for initiation to occur. This paper describes the first successful micropropagation of these taxa with application for horticultural development of this important southern-hemisphere family .