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Ajuga chamaepitys

Ground Pine · Yellow Bugle · Ground-pine Bugle

Family LamiaceaeGenus Ajuga

A low bushy plant of narrow divided leaves with small yellow flowers, growing in limestone
FlowerVictor M. Vicente SelvasPublic domain

About the plant

What it is and where it grows — not part of any germination protocol.

Habit
annual or subshrubPlants of the World Online
Habit
Annual, Forb/herbPLANTS Database
Flower
YellowRead from the photograph on this page
Native range
Albania, Algeria, Austria, Baleares, Belgium, Bulgaria and elsewhereGBIF Backbone Taxonomy

Toxicity is noted only where a source states it. No note here is not a finding of safety.

Sources: Plants of the World Online — Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; PLANTS Database — USDA NRCS; Read from the photograph on this page — Deno's Garden; GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Worth knowing

  • Yellow bugle, or ground-pine, has been considered by herbalists a remedy for gout and rheumatism, and in the Levant locals have traditionally used it to relieve pain. Wikipedia: Ajuga chamaepitys

This source reports two treatments. Both are shown.

Protocol 1

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty Low Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around March 22, 2027 for a May 3 last frost.

  1. Gibberellic acid soak

  2. Sow and cover

    Temperature: 70°F 21°C

No stated waiting before sowing. Then 14 days to germinate.

83% germination in 14 days.

GA-3 turns a nine-month job into a fortnight. The seedlings were normal and healthy.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Ajuga p. 90Public domain
Show the original text
Ajuga (Lamiaceae). A. chamaepitys gave a complex behavior. When treated with GA-3, it germ. 83% in the 2nd w, and the seedlings were normal and healthy. Without GA-3 germination was basically a 70-40-70 pattern. The data were 70(3%)-40-70(50% in 2nd w). Light did not have much effect.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Ajuga p. 90. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 2

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty High Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around September 24, 2027 for a May 3 last frost. Too late for spring 2027 — that needed starting on September 23, 2026.

  1. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C Light: either

    3% germinated in the first cycle at 70.

  2. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

  3. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

about 6 months from start to step 3. Germination happens during step 3, in 14 days.

50% germination in 14 days.

Without GA-3 this is a nine-month cycle. Light made little difference.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Ajuga p. 90Public domain
Show the original text
Ajuga (Lamiaceae). A. chamaepitys gave a complex behavior. Without GA-3 germination was basically a 70-40-70 pattern. The data were 70(3%)-40-70(50% in 2nd w). Light did not have much effect.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Ajuga p. 90. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

How each step is done, in Deno’s words, and what Verified and Derived mean.

Germination trials

Readers’ own records of sowing this species, published after review. Share your trial · All trials

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