The germination response of Ocotea pulchella (Nees) Mez seeds to light, temperature, water level and pulp presence is introduced. The laboratory assays were carried out in germination chambers and thermal-gradient apparatus, whereas the field assays were performed in environments with distinct light, temperature and soil moisture conditions within a permanent parcel of Restinga forest of the Parque Estadual da Ilha do Cardoso, Cananéia, São Paulo. The seeds do not exhibit dormancy, they are non photoblastic, and a loss of viability in dry stored seeds can be related to a decrease in water content of the seed. The presence of the pulp and the flooded substratum influenced negatively the germination of O. pulchella seeds tested in the laboratory. Otherwise, light and temperature probably are not limiting factors of the germination of O. pulchella seeds in the natural environment of Restinga. The optimum temperature range for germination of Ocotea pulchella seeds was 20 to 32 °C, the minimum or base temperature estimated was 11 °C and the maximum ranged between 33 and 42 °C. The isotherms exhibited a sigmoidal pattern well described by the Weibull model in the sub-optimal temperature range. The germinability of O. pulchella seeds in the understorey, both in wet and dry soil, was higher than in gaps. Germination was not affected by fluctuations in soil moisture content in the understorey environment, whereas in gaps, germination was higher in wet soils. Thus, the germination of this species involves the interaction of two or more factors and it cannot be explained by a single factor.693935942Alvarez-Buylla, E.R., Martinez-Ramos, M., Seed bank versus seed rain in the regeneration of a tropical pioneer (1990) Oecologia, 84 (3), pp. 314-325Amaral-Barolli, A., Takaki, M., Phytochrome controls achene germination in Bidens pilosa L. (Asteraceae) by very low fluence response (2001) Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology, 44 (2), pp. 121-124Bradford, K., Water relations in seed germination (1995) Seed Development and Germination, pp. 351-396. , In KIGEL, J. and GALILI, G., New York: Marcel Dekker IncCardoso, V.J.M., Germinação (2004) Fisiologia Vegetal, pp. 386-408. , In KERBAUY, GB, Rio de Janeiro: Guanabara KooganCarrasco, P.G., (2003) Produção de mudas de espécies florestais de restinga, com base em estudos florísticos e fitossociológicos, visando a recuperação de áreas degradadas, em Ilha Comprida/SP, , Rio Claro: UNESP. [Tese de Doutorado]Covell, S., Ellis, R.H., Roberts, E.H., Summerfield, R.J., The influence of temperature on seed germination rate in grain legumes (1986) Journal of Experimental Botany, 37 (178), pp. 705-715Denslow, J.S., Gap partitioning among tropical rainforest trees (1980) Biotropica, 12 (2), pp. 47-55Dumur, D., Pilbeam, C.J., Craigon, J., Use of the Weibull function to calculate cardinal temperatures in faba bean (1990) Journal of Experimental Botany, 41 (232), pp. 1423-1430Ellis, R.H., Covell, S., Roberts, E.H., Summerfield, R.J., The influence of temperature on seed germination rate in grain legumes. II. Intraspecific variation in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) at constant temperatures (1986) Journal of Experimental Botany, 17 (183), pp. 1503-1515Foster, S.A., On the adaptive value of large seeds for tropical moist Forest trees: A review and synthesis (1986) The Botanical Review, 52 (3), pp. 260-299Funari, F.L., del-Vuono, Y.S., Salum, S.T., Balanço hídrico de duas áreas de Mata Atlântica: Reserva Biológica de Paranapiacaba e Parque Estadual da Ilha do Cardoso (1987) Anais do VI Congresso da Sociedade Botânica de São Paulo, 4, pp. 95-101. , In, São Paulo: SBSPGarcia-Huidobro, J., Monteith, J.L., Squire, G.R., Time, temperature and germination of pearl millet (Pennisetum typhoides) I. Constant temperature (1982) Journal of Experimental Botany, 33 (133), pp. 288-296Godoi, S., Takaki, M., Effects of light and temperature on seed germination in Cecropia hololeuca Miq. (Cecropiaceae) (2004) Brazilian Archives of Biology, 47 (2), pp. 185-191Gomes, B.Z., Martins, F.R., Tamashiro, J.Y., Estrutura do cerradão e da transição entre cerradão e floresta paludícola num fragmento da International Paper do Brasil (2004) Revista Brasileira de Botânica, 27 (2), pp. 249-262Gomes, F.H., Vidal-Torrado, P., MacÍas, F., Gherardi, B., Pérez, J.L.O., Solos sob vegetação de restinga na Ilha do Cardoso (SP). I - Caracterização e Classificação (2007) Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo, 31 (6), pp. 1563-1580Hubbell, S.P., Foster, R.B., Canopy gaps and the dynamics of a Neotropical Forest (1986) Plant Ecology, pp. 77-96. , In CRAWLEY, MJ., Oxford: Blackwell Scientific PublicationsJoly, C.A., Flooding tolerance in tropical trees (1991) Plant life under oxygen deprivation: ecology, physiology and biochemistry, pp. 23-34. , In JACKSON, MB., DAVIES, DD. and LAMBERS, P, Hague: SPB Academic PublishingLabouriau, L.G., Agudo, M., On the physiology of seed germination in Salvia hispanica L. I. Temperature effects (1987) Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, 59 (1), pp. 37-56Lorenzi, H., (1992) Árvores brasileiras, 1, p. 130. , Nova Odessa: Editora PlantarumMajerowicz, N., Peres, L.E.P., Fotomorfogênese em plantas (2004) Fisiologia Vegetal, pp. 421-438. , In KERBAUY, GB, Rio de Janeiro: Editora Guanabara KooganOkamoto, J.M., Joly, C.A., Ecophysiology and respiratory metabolism during the germination of Inga sessilis (Vell.) Mart. (Mimosaceae) seeds subjected to hypoxia and anoxia (2000) Revista Brasileira de Botânica, 23 (1), pp. 51-57Oliveira, A.A., A Vegetação - Fitossociologia (2006) IV Relatório Científico do Projeto "Diversidade, dinâmica e conservação em florestas do Estado de São Paulo: 40 ha de parcelas permanentes", , www.lerf.esalq.usp.br, In: Rodrigues, RR., Piracicaba: Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz", USP. Available fromPammenter, N.W., Berjak, P., Aspects of recalcitrant seed physiology (2000) Revista Brasileira de Fisiologia Vegetal, 12, pp. 56-69. , Edição especialPassos, L., Oliveira, P.S., Interactions between ants, fruits, and seeds in a Restinga forest in south-eastern Brazil (2003) Journal of Tropical Ecology, 19 (3), pp. 261-270Pinheiro, F., Borghetti, F., Light and temperature requeriments for germination of seeds of Aechmea nudicaulis (L.) Griesebachand and Streptocalyx floribundus (Martius Ex Schultes F.) Mez (Bromeliaceae) (2003) Acta Botanica Brasilica, 17 (1), pp. 27-35Pires, L.A., (2006) Ecofisiologia de espécies ocorrentes em uma floresta de restinga, , Rio Claro: Instituto de Biociências, UNESP. [Tese de Doutorado]Raich, J.W., Khoon, G.W., Effect of canopy openings on tree seed germination in a Malayan dipterocarp forest (1990) Journal of Tropical Ecology, 6 (2), pp. 203-17Salimon, C.I., Negrelle, R.B., Natural regeneration in a Quarternary Coastal Plain in the Southern Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest (2001) Brazilian Archives of Biology, 44 (2), pp. 155-163(2001) Resolução SMA, (21). , SãO PAULO. SECRETARIA DO MEIO AMBIENTE, de 21 de novembro de 2001. São PauloScarano, F.R., Ribeiro, K.T., Moraes, L.F.D., Lima, H.C., Plant establishment on flooded and unflooded patches of a freshwater swamp forest in southeastern Brazil (1997) Journal of Tropical Ecology, 14 (6), pp. 793-803Silva, E.M.N., Determinação de umidade (1988) Manual de análise de sementes florestais, , In: PIÑA- RODRIGUES, FCM., Campinas: Fundação CargillSilva, A., Aguiar, I.B., Germinação de sementes de canela-preta (Ocotea catharinensis) sob diferentes condições de luz e temperatura (1998) Revista Instituto Florestal, 10 (1), pp. 17-22Silva, S.M., Britez, R.M., A vegetação da planície costeira (2005) História natural e conservação da Ilha do Mel, pp. 49-84. , In: MARQUES, MCM. and BRITEZ, RM, Curitiba: Editora UFPRSilva, L.M.M., Rodrigues, T.J.D., Aguiar, I.B., Efeito da luz e da temperatura na germinação de sementes de Aroeira (Myracrodruon urundeuva Allemão) (2002) Revista Arvore, 26 (6), pp. 691-697Souza, V.C., Lorenzi, H., (2005) Botânica sistemática: guia ilustrado para identificação das famílias de Angiospermas da flora brasileira, baseado em APG II, p. 640. , Nova Odessa: Instituto PlantarumSugiyama, M., Estudo de florestas da restinga da Ilha do Cardoso, Cananéia, São Paulo, Brasil (1998) Boletim do Instituto de Botânica, 11, pp. 119-159Sztutman, M., Rodrigues, R.R., O mosaico vegetacional numa área de floresta contínua da planície litorânea, Parque Estadual da Campina do Encantado, Pariquera-Açu, SP (2002) Revista Brasileira de Botânica, 25 (2), pp. 161-176Teixeira, A.P., Rodrigues, R.R., Análise florística e estrutural do componente arbustivo-arbóreo de uma floresta de galeria no Município de Cristais Paulista, SP, Brasil (2006) Revista Brasileira de Botânica, 20 (4), pp. 803-813Válio, I.F.M., Joly, C.A., Light sensitivity of the seeds on the distribuition of Cecropia glasiovii Snethlage (Moraceae) (1979) Zeitschrift für flanzenphysiologie, 91 (4), pp. 371-376Vázquez-Yanes, C., Estudios sobre la ecofisiologia de la germinación en una zona calido-humeda de México (1976) Regeneración de Selvas, pp. 279-387. , In: GOMEZ-POMPA, A., GÓMEZ-POMPA, A., VáZQUEZ- YANES, C., DEL AMO, S. and BUTANDA, A, México: Compañía Editorial ContinentalVázquez-Yanes, C.R., Orozco-Segovia, A., Ecophysiology of seed germination in the tropical humid tropics of the world: A review (1984) Physiological ecology of Plants of the Wet Tropics, pp. 37-50. , In: MEDINA, E., MOONEY, HA. and VáZQUEZ-YANES, CR., The Hague: Dr. Junk PublishersVázquez-Yanes, C.R., Orozco-Segovia, A., Ecological significance of light controlled seed germination in two contrasting tropical habitats (1990) Oecologia, 83 (2), pp. 171-175Washitani, I., Germination-rate dependence on temperature of Geranium carolinianum seeds (1985) Journal of Experimental Botany, 36 (163), pp. 330-337Whitmore, T.C., Gaps in the forest canopy (1978) Tropical Trees as Living Systems, pp. 639-655. , In: TOMLINSON, PB., ZIMMERMAN, MH. (Ed.)., New York: Cambridge University PressZaia, J.E., Takaki, M., Estudo da germinação de sementes de espécies arbóreas pioneiras: Tibouchina pulchra Cogn e Tibouchina granulosa Cogn (Melastomataceae) (1998) Acta Botanica Brasilica, 12 (3), pp. 221-229Zar, J.H., (1996) Biostatistical Analysis, p. 662. , 3 ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall