bigdog

I took out the 70 + seeds that I didn't sow out of the bag today. There are two distinct colors: Brown and black (or really dark brown). I took a razor and made a chip on a lateral side of the seed coat, flaking away integument until I got to endosperm. The lighter-colored brown seeds had an off-white, almost cream-colored endosperm. The dark brown, almost black seeds had very white endosperm. Curious, I decided to split a few of the light-colored ones open to examine the embryo. The first three seeds that I split either had no embryo, or I just couldn't find it. The next three I split did have an embryo, but it was quite obviously not viable anymore. They were brownish-colored and dessicated very badly. The seeds split quite easily also with a pair of pliers. This is one reason why germination seems impossible with these seeds. The embryo is dead! I scarified ten of the dark-brown seeds, and all had chalk-white endosperm, so I am soaking them now. We'll see what happens!