Sustainable development of Hedeoma multiflorum Bentham (Lamiaceae) in San Luis (Argentina) - Part II. Experiment cultivation under mountain conditions

The present work had the objective of raising plants of "peperina de las lomas", from seeds, in experimental plots, under mountain conditions, to gather information about requirements of the species for use in its commercial cultivation. The results, after repeating the test for three years, show that plants complete a life cycle and then die, i.e, they behave like annuals (in nature they are perennials) may be due to intraspecific competition (higher plant density under cultivation than that observed in the wild populations of the area). The growth reached by the plants, expressed as total length of the aerial part, surpassed that of those that grow wild; and the average production of 1430 g was fresh matter /m(2) and 17,468 of dry matter. In winter, the plants have withstood 10 degrees C without shedding leaves.