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Unripe viable seed

Joseph Clemens

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<span style='font-size:12pt;line-height:100%'>I have been working at learning to grow Pinguicula planifolia. I am beginning to have some success. Yeah!

I recently managed to get viable seed from selfing a solitary flower on a plant of this species that I just added to my collection.

Curious though, when the seed pod split open to indicate the seed was "ripe", I noticed that most of the seed were still green, (not just to indicate they were unripe, but they were actually a light shade of green) though a few were almost brown. Not wanting to lose any chance I might have at growing this species from seed I sowed them all on the black sand surface of a pot I had previously prepared for this purpose. I kept checking on them frequently with a 10X loupe. What I saw was that first, all of the "green" seed slowly turned brown, then they began to germinate. Presently, about a month later, I have quite a few small Pinguicula planifolia seedlings whose leaves which were initially green are developing a nice pink/red tint and seem to be growing well.
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It never ceases to amaze me of your creative skill and subsequent successes! Great job!
 
Congrats! Are you goin` to post a pic of those babys?
 
Pingman, It is amazing that the pods will split open and drop seed that has not ripened yet, and they complete the job outside the flower. I have thought on more than one occasion that I blew it when planting ping seed, only to find that they don't follow the same rules that may apply to other CP seed. I wouldn't dare try that with my sarracenia. It would not work.
 
pond boy,
No pic yet. I will get one as soon as I can get a good one.
 
Ok,*waiting in anticipation of pingmans pics*.
 
That is cool, sort of makes sence, if they like to germinate quickly, why dehydrate and cover them with a hard seed coat at all... in fact, letting some ripen and others not seems a logical way to put some in the seed bank and cash the others right away.
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I've seen other plants do this too.
 
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