Seeds of Reaumuria soongorica and Oxytropis aciphylla were collected from Alashan desert grassland, Inner Mongolia.
Seed germination were evaluated under different temperature and light conditions in laboratory. the results showed that higher germination percentage was obtained from Reaumuria
soongorica seeds maintained in the dark than under the light. The optimum germination temperatures were of 15/25 ℃ alternative and 20 ℃ constant, The maximum germination was 72%, which was obtained 10 d after
incubation. The suitable substrates for germination were ‘TP’, ‘BP’ and ‘TS’, while ‘S’ was not effective for Reaumuria soongorica.Oxytropis aciphylla seed had hard seed content up to 54%～64%, which can be effectively broken by the treatment of chip off tasta fragment. The optimum temperatures for germination were 15/25 ℃ alternative and 20 ℃ constant, the germination of 72% and 68% was obtained at these conditions respectively. Prechill treatment had no effect on breaking of dormancy. All of the four substrates tested were suitable for germination. The maximum accumulated germination was obtained 8 d after incubation. 1 000 seed weights of Reaumuria soongorica and Oxytropis aciphylla were 1 g and 3 g respectively. The relationship between seed germination and ecological environment were discussed.