Seed germination and vegetative production of Greyia radlkoferi, an indigenous tree of cosmeceutical importance N. Nogemane a and G. Prinsloo Department of Agriculture and Animal Health, University of South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa. Abstract Greyia radlkoferi is one of the important and recently studied cosmeceutical trees or shrubs indigenous to South Africa. It offers great potential as a source of extracts for the development of cosmeceutical products with the ability to treat hyperpigmentation. In order to develop the product, G. radlkoferi must be produced on a commercial scale. Greyia radlkoferi is known to regenerate naturally by seed. In an effort to introduce G. radlkoferi into cultivation, the effect of five temperature treatments ranging from 10-30°C on the germination of its seeds was investigated. The trial was carried out under laboratory-controlled conditions in incubators in continuous darkness. Germination of G. radlkoferi seeds was discovered to be dependent on temperature. Warm temperatures between 20 and 25°C were more favourable for the germination of this species with optimum germination temperature being 25°C with 82% germination. In vegetative propagation by stem cuttings, the effect of cutting position, exogenous rooting hormone (Seradix ® 1, Seradix ® 2, 0.1, 0.3 and 0.8% IBA) and the cutting position were studied in the glasshouse. The cutting position had a significant effect on rooting of G. radlkoferi cuttings with basal cuttings rooting better with 35% rooting compared to 6% rooting attained for the apical cuttings. Exogenous hormones did not show any statistical significant effects on the rooting of cuttings, however, a clear trend in response to the growth regulator treatments was observed, with 0.1% IBA recording the highest rooting percentage. Considering the results of this study, seed propagation appears to be the suitable technique for large-scale multiplication of G. radlkoferi. This data contribute to the establishment of an efficient protocol for cultivation of G. radlkoferi for commercial purposes. Keywords: Greyia radlkoferi, seed germination rate, temperature, dark exposure, propagation INTRODUCTION Greyia radlkoferi, commonly known as the mountain bottlebrush is a tree or a shrub belonging to the family Melianthaceae (Palgrave and Palgrave, 2002). It is indigenous to South Africa (Palgrave and Palgrave, 2002) and is mostly found in northern Kwa-Zulu Natal, bordering the country of Swaziland and in the Eastern Gauteng area. Greyia radlkoferi grows in varying habitats such as forest margins along rivers, on rocky mountain sides or on cliff edges. It grows to a height of about 2-5 m. Greyia radlkoferi is mostly used as a decorative tree for the inland gardens (Pooley 1993) and is popular as an ornamental plant (Palgrave and Palgrave, 2002). Recent studies have shown that Greyia radlkoferi offers a great potential for the development of pharmaceuticals or cosmetic agents for use against dermatological disorders associated with melanin (De Cahna et al., 2015; Lall et al., 2016). Its ethanolic leaf extracts and isolated compounds inhibited skin hyperpigmentation. In a tyrosinase enzyme assay it reduced the production of melanin in melanocyte studies. Furthermore, clinical studies of G. radlkoferi cream gel formulations derived from leaf extracts proved to have non-mutagenic effects, non-irritant, antioxidant activity and to have a E-mail: nogemn@unisa.ac.za Acta Hortic. 1204. ISHS 2018. DOI 10.17660/ActaHortic.2018.1204.11 Proc. VII Int. Symp. on Seed Transplant and Stand Establishment of Hort. Crops Eds.: P. Soundy et al. 85