Abstract An A-ring-derived analog of the natural germination stimulant, Strigol (1), has been prepared from citral in an unambiguous manner. This analog, 2, a γ-hydroxy aldehyde for which a high stimulant activity was claimed in the literature, has been re-evaluated as a germination stimulant for seeds of parasitic weeds and was found to be inactive. It was also shown that analog 2 is rather stable in aqueous solution, in contrast to other reports.
