The rate and percent of dark germination were low in untreatedPinustaedaL. seeds. Both increased with seedcoat clipping or removal, but not to the level of stratified seeds. Coats did not reduce the rate of initial water inhibition but did limit total uptake prior to germination, probably by restricting swelling of the megagametophyte and embryo. Respiration followed the pattern of water absorption in decoated seeds. However, it was at a common low level in stratified, clipped, and unstratified seeds until germination began, and there seemed to be no causal relation between respiration and coat permeability. Dormancy is likely to be the result of mechanical constraint by the seedcoat.