SOMATIC EMBRYOGENESIS IN CIMICIFUGA RACEMOSA

Since a long time Cimicifuga has been used for therapeutic purposes. The demand for the plant drug Cimicifugae rhizome has been increased tremendously during the last years. This study aimed to develop a method for somatic embryogenesis in Cimicifuga. Hypocotyl segments were used as explants and cultivated for 2 to 18 weeks on a modified medium according to Murashige and Skoog containing 1 mg L^-1 2,4 D. Embryogenic callus occurred after 2 weeks. After transferring this callus onto a hormone-free MS medium with 2.5 g L^-1 activated charcoal, somatic embryos were formed and matured. Mature embryos were separated and continued growing on the hormone-free medium. After two months from 100 embryos 80 plantlets were formed but only about 44 of these plantlets could be transplanted after 6 months. The plantlets were cultivated till a size of 3 cm in vitro and than transplanted in a peat substrate for acclimatization. The acclimatized plantlets were transferred into the greenhouse. Plants of a size of 20 cm were planted in the open field. Since 3 years plants derived from somatic embryos have been cultivated in the field and evaluated concerning morphological and physiological properties.