# serotinous **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [September 13, 2002, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serotinous/128295 "2002-09-13T14:51:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jjaandi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5a626/32.png) [@jjaandi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjaandi)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2002, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serotinous/128295/1 "2002-09-13T14:51:45Z")
The definition of serotinous is “late blooming,” as in Prunus Serotina, the wild cherry tree which flowers later than its relatives. In the column on self-immolation of plants, Cecil thinks the word has something to do with fire. ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2002, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serotinous/128295/2 "2002-09-13T17:07:59Z")
Welcome to the SDMB, \*\*jjaandi \*\*. You’ll have fun here. By the way you don’t need to hit return in the reply box - the lines wrap themselves. A link to column being discussed is useful: [Is there a bush that spontaneously bursts into flame to reproduce?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/020913.html) [Dictionary.com](http://Dictionary.com) agrees with you, but the OED says (and I’m confident that specialist botanist dictionaries would too) that the word can be used in the sense that Cecil does: > [@](#): > > _(Sorry, can’t link to the OED)_ > 2. Bot. Of a cone: remaining long unopened, slow to release seed. [snip] > Hence serotiny, the property or state of being serotinous. [snip] > 1977 J. L. HARPER Population Biol. of Plants xx. 629 The evolution of serotiny in pines ensures that seed is stored in cones on the tree and only released to germinate after a fire. So germination by fire is a _special case_ of serotiny, and perhaps the use of the words “that is” in the column is a trifle misleading. ---
**Author:** ![jjaandi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5a626/32.png) [@jjaandi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjaandi)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2002, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serotinous/128295/3 "2002-09-13T18:39:55Z")
Which brings me to a more burning question. Is all serotiny a response to heat, or do some plants postpone devlopment due to hours of sunlight or some other factors? (I’m not a botanist.) The “late pear,” Pyrus serotina, actually flowers in March (early) and bears ripe fruit in November (late). ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2002, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serotinous/128295/4 "2002-09-14T00:46:48Z")
Merriam-Webster’s considers the late-opening definition to be the primary (in fact the only) one: > [@](#): > > Main Entry: se·rot·i·nous > Pronunciation: s&-'rät-n&s, -'rä-t&n-&s; "ser-&-'tI-n&s > Function: adjective > Etymology: Latin serotinus coming late, from sero late – more at SOIREE > Date: circa 1656 > : remaining closed on the tree with seed dissemination delayed or occurring gradually \ The basic sense is simply “late opening,” and thus can apply both to flowers that open late in the season, as well as cones that open long after their fertilization. However, the most frequent use botanically is probably in reference to cones. To answer **jjaandi** , timing of blooming and fruit maturation is often determined by changing day length, but also can be due to temperature or rainfall. Serotinous cones of course are a different situation, since they are usually an adaptation to fire. ---
**Author:** ![jjaandi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5a626/32.png) [@jjaandi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjaandi)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2002, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serotinous/128295/5 "2002-09-14T20:54:29Z")
A search for the string “serotin” at the USDA site [http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov) (great site) yields some 25 species or subspecies which are named for a “late” characteristic. Among them are certain cherries, pears, elms, poplars, grasses, sedges, and daisies. And one coniferous plant, “Pinus serotina.” ---
**Author:** ![Klaatuu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8491ac/32.png) [@Klaatuu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Klaatuu)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serotinous/128295/6 "2002-09-15T04:15:48Z")
The Banksia trees of Australia will only drop their seed after the seed pods have been seared by fire. They are serotinous. . If you pry open the seed pods and plant the seeds, the only way you can make them germinate is to water them with water that has had smoke bubbled through it (maybe bong-water is good for this - dunno, I haven’t tried it). ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serotinous/128295/7 "2002-09-15T15:24:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jjaandi \* > \*\*A search for the string “serotin” at the USDA site [http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov) (great site) yields some 25 species or subspecies which are named for a “late” characteristic. Among them are certain cherries, pears, elms, poplars, grasses, sedges, and daisies. And one coniferous plant, “Pinus serotina.” \*\* Speaking with reference to the use of the term as an English adjective, and not as part of a scientific name, I’ve studied quite a bit of botany, and the only sense I have ever seen “serotinous” used is with reference to pine cones, specifically ones that only open in response to fire. While the term may sometimes be used (as an English adjective) for late-blooming species, by far the most common usage is the sense in which Cecil used it.