Astragalus penduliflorus Lam. is an alpine-subalpine species. Several isolated populations occur in Europe: in the Alps, Pyrenees, Carpathians and in central Sweden. Astragalus penduliflorus is considered as critically endangered species in Poland, growing only at the locality in the Smytnia Valley, in the Western Tatra Mountains. The population is at risk, due to the limited reproduction caused by law rate of seed germination, periodically shortened vegetation period that prevent seed development and gnawing the aerial plant parts by deer. The aim of the study was to explain the reason for the poor germination of A. penduliflorus seeds. As a result of mechanical scarification, 100% of A. penduliflorus seeds germinated, which proved that these seeds are characterized by a water-impermeable seed coat, which classified them as hard seeds that go through physical dormancy. Results obtained in this work can be used for effective reproduction and active conservation of threatened A. penduliflorus.
The relationships between structural-mechanical properties of maltodextrine gels texture have been presented in this paper. The study shows substantial differences of the observed features between the industrial (Nowamyl) and laboratory maltodextrines (ME1 and ME2). Values of parameters such as strength, adhesion, ductility, and gumminess were higher for Nowamyl than for ME1 and ME2. In spite of a similar value of DE, industrial maltodextrine was harder and presented greater adhesion than ME1 and ME2 maltodextrines. The positive correlation between concentration and gel strength of all tested maltodextrines was observed. However, unessential influence of pH was indicated only for Nowamyl.