Chambeyronia lepidota seeds

[Tyrone]

I just received 10 Chambeyronia lepidota mid elevation seeds in the mail and they all float. Not all palm species seeds need to sink to be viable. Does anyone know if these seeds are ok or likely passed it???

What do you think.

[palmad Merc]

2 hours ago, Tyrone said:

I just received 10 Chambeyronia lepidota mid elevation seeds in the mail and they all float. Not all palm species seeds need to sink to be viable. Does anyone know if these seeds are ok or likely passed it???

What do you think.

I saw them on RPS, was very tempted.

Hope they are viable for you.

For all of them to float, that must be the norm for them, especially if marked NEW.

Good luck with them 

 

 

2 hours ago, Tyrone said:

I just received 10 Chambeyronia lepidota mid elevation seeds in the mail and they all float. Not all palm species seeds need to sink to be viable. Does anyone know if these seeds are ok or likely passed it???

What do you think.

 

2 hours ago, Tyrone said:

 

 

 

[palmad Merc]

This is from RPS,"The fruit of the mid elevation form is partly filled with a strange, gelatinous substance that seems to have no function other than filling the space (about half) in the fruit that is not occupied by the endosperm. The endosperm thus has a somewhat hemispherical shape and occupies only a rather small fraction of the fruit. This can drastically be seen in a longitudinal section of the fruit and seed"

apparently no   heat  for germination.

Edited August 7, 2018 by palmad Merc

[Tyrone]

1 hour ago, palmad Merc said:

This is from RPS,"The fruit of the mid elevation form is partly filled with a strange, gelatinous substance that seems to have no function other than filling the space (about half) in the fruit that is not occupied by the endosperm. The endosperm thus has a somewhat hemispherical shape and occupies only a rather small fraction of the fruit. This can drastically be seen in a longitudinal section of the fruit and seed"

apparently no   heat  for germination.

Thanks. I wonder if just like a pandanus seed for example they float for a while and then streams and floods can disperse them until they get too heavy and sink then as the waters recede they end up on a new stream bank somewhere. I'm going to treat this seed like Hedyscepe and Rhopalostylis to germinate. No heat. In fact they'll go outside into pots in the shade in winter. It's about 8C min to around 17C max at the moment but will steadily warm up from now.

[Darold Petty]

When seeds are marked as 'New' at RPS, keep in mind that this means only 'new' to RPS.  (Still, I now only order seeds with this designation.) 

[Caribbean Palms]

I just sowed 200 Chambeyronia hookeri seed today and soaked all in clean water before planting. Only one floated, cut it open and sure enough it was black and rotted inside. I also cut one of the non floaters and it had a good fresh white embryo. Haven't tried lepidota yet so it might be different.. Good luck Tyrone.

 

[ellidro]

Sounds weird but try taking off the other husk of the seed. I've noticed that removing the outer husk allows some seeds to sink. For me if I remove the husk and they sink they are usually still viable. If you remove the other husk and they still float most likely they aren't good.

 

 

[jglock1]

I too received 10 of the Chambeyronia lepidota seeds recently. I soaked these for three days.  I had eight out of ten seeds that floated. I had two that sank to the bottom. I have all ten in a bag with soaked and squeezed coconut coir.

I am concerned about the viability of these seeds. If I don’t get any to germinate, it will be my last order of seeds. I think that we ought to be told when the seeds were collected and how long these have been stored. 

[KrisKupsch]

If they float I suggest they aren’t any good.

[Tracy]

3 hours ago, jglock1 said:

I think that we ought to be told when the seeds were collected and how long these have been stored. 

That seems like a reasonable disclosure.  I guess if there were more resources to get the seeds that it might become a competitive advantage to those that disclose accurate information.  I don't think that there are a lot of resources though...  Wishing you both success!  You will have to post updates on the ultimate results.

[Tyrone]

It is a big risk you take with an expensive and rare species such as this. One has sunk overnight and another is getting heavier. Will give them a bit more soaking, give them as perfect conditions as possible and monitor the results. The seed is wild collected so if you want to go down this path there is a risk, and if you succeed then it's all worth it. If they were from cultivation I would expect near perfect seed, assuming of course that there really is an issue with the seed in the end. If I don't even get one to come up then I will not be happy.

[richnorm]

7 hours ago, ellidro said:

Sounds weird but try taking off the other husk of the seed. I've noticed that removing the outer husk allows some seeds to sink. For me if I remove the husk and they sink they are usually still viable. If you remove the other husk and they still float most likely they aren't good.

 

 

Agreed.  But if they are good you will know quite quickly as like other Chambeyronia good seed will germinate readily.  I have found the mid-elevation form to be superior to the low elevation form.  Faster and more robust.   Both are slow by any measure though!

[Tyrone]

2 hours ago, richnorm said:

Agreed.  But if they are good you will know quite quickly as like other Chambeyronia good seed will germinate readily.  I have found the mid-elevation form to be superior to the low elevation form.  Faster and more robust.   Both are slow by any measure though!

Thanks. I didn't know of a low elevation form. I thought there was only mid and high elevation. The seeds are meant to be different between the two.

I half pulled the husk off of one and revealed the gel stuff that fills up the gap in the seed on these and it sank like a stone after that. Maybe that gel stuff is designed to help it float for a bit then fill up with water and then sink. Other than the floating bit the seeds look fresh to me. It could just be a weird quirky species. I've germinated the high elevation form and they germinated well, but didn't survive Perth summers. They looked much better in winter. Should be a breeze down here.

[Darold Petty]

Perhaps the 'gel' is less dense than water and thus mature seed would float?  If you are willing to sacrifice a seed you could try putting a bit of the gel in water, would it sink or float ?

[richnorm]

1 hour ago, Tyrone said:

Thanks. I didn't know of a low elevation form. I thought there was only mid and high elevation. The seeds are meant to be different between the two.

I half pulled the husk off of one and revealed the gel stuff that fills up the gap in the seed on these and it sank like a stone after that. Maybe that gel stuff is designed to help it float for a bit then fill up with water and then sink. Other than the floating bit the seeds look fresh to me. It could just be a weird quirky species. I've germinated the high elevation form and they germinated well, but didn't survive Perth summers. They looked much better in winter. Should be a breeze down here.

Having checked I think the correct terminology is "high" and "mid" but somehow low was once mentioned and stuck, in my mind at least!  Anyway, to confirm, the semi-ellipsoid form is from the lower elevation source so I put you wrong there!  Get the high version if you can

Edited August 8, 2018 by richnorm

[Tyrone]

When they become available again I will definitely try the high elevation down here. Should be a stronger grower in the cooler climate. The mid elevation version is meant to grow under canopy whereas the high elevation form is emergent. It could be a temperature thing much like on LHI and Hedyscepe. Hedyscepe only emerges once it's a higher altitude and it's more robust and chunky in full sun.

[Hamal]

I have got 10 seeds as well. Since I live in Germany, that was already more than a week ago.

Removing the husk will definitely make them sink. The actual seeds looks like a cone, so the fruit contains only 50% seed and 50% air. The latter makes them all float.

They have not germinated yet, but they do seem viable, as I do not see any buildup of fungus.

[DoomsDave]

@Tyrone

You’ve got them so you might as well plant them 

Sometimes floaters grow too especially if there’s fruit on them

[LJG]

I know Toby has gotten beaten up here lately for bad seed, but last time a bunch of NewCal seed came around for him I had great success. His NewCal collectors seem on it for ripe seed. For example my KP seed germinated 99/100 last time! I just ordered like 4 different NewCal seed batches, so fingers crossed it’s all good like last time. I got a little worried reading Johns report on the C. macrocarpa seed he got as I too ordered that. 

[Tyrone]

3 hours ago, LJG said:

I know Toby has gotten beaten up here lately for bad seed, but last time a bunch of NewCal seed came around for him I had great success. His NewCal collectors seem on it for ripe seed. For example my KP seed germinated 99/100 last time! I just ordered like 4 different NewCal seed batches, so fingers crossed it’s all good like last time. I got a little worried reading Johns report on the C. macrocarpa seed he got as I too ordered that. 

I must admit I'm having more success with NC seed from RPS than I used too. My last lot of B veillardii seed got around 100 percent germination. Previous to this I must have tried around a 1000 Burretiokentia seed over the space of many years in the past and only had two hapala ever germinate. In this order I have K piersonorium, K pyriformis, Veillonia alba and this seed looks really good. I think I can see white buttons forming on the Veillonia now and they're just soaking.

I wasn't trying to beat up Toby on here. I honestly wanted to see if these seed float at first and it appears that they might. Trying to grow rare hard to get species can be fraught with issues.

[LJG]

3 hours ago, Tyrone said:

I must admit I'm having more success with NC seed from RPS than I used too. My last lot of B veillardii seed got around 100 percent germination. Previous to this I must have tried around a 1000 Burretiokentia seed over the space of many years in the past and only had two hapala ever germinate. In this order I have K piersonorium, K pyriformis, Veillonia alba and this seed looks really good. I think I can see white buttons forming on the Veillonia now and they're just soaking.

I wasn't trying to beat up Toby on here. I honestly wanted to see if these seed float at first and it appears that they might. Trying to grow rare hard to get species can be fraught with issues.

I am pretty sure some of the NewCal seed comes from Marcus too. Have to ask when ordering. 

I wasn’t saying you were beating him up. Just pointing out some on here have had bad results and written about it here. 

[Tyrone]

1 hour ago, LJG said:

I am pretty sure some of the NewCal seed comes from Marcus too. Have to ask when ordering. 

I wasn’t saying you were beating him up. Just pointing out some on here have had bad results and written about it here. 

No probs. 

[Rickybobby]

I buy all mine be from seedman. I have the same issues. Not with floating persay but with freshness. We need to do our homework on when each species seeds and ripens. So for me now since the seeds are cheap I buy all kinds of difference species and the ones I have success with I order more and the others I cross off the list

[Palms4Steve]

All of mine floated too.

[Mike Evans]

How about cutting open a floater?  If it is bad, cut another one, if it is bad, keep going.  If you run out of seed, you will not have wasted your time trying to germinate.

[Josh-O]

if you take off the husk and they still float after a day or two in the water..............................................its usually a no go.

 

like suggested above cut one or two open

 

then you will know the facts.

 

If its good glue it back together and sow it..

 

[Tyrone]

Half of these seeds are naturally hollow, so they will tend to float. I took my strongest floater and peeled the husk off revealing the much smaller actual seed. If this floats after two days it's likely gone but if it sinks like a stone I think you are ok. From my 10, 2 floated even after peeling. They had started to go off. I had 8 seed that I sowed in the end.

[Tyrone]

Steve, I'll keep you posted on how mine go and let me know how yours go. I'm using no heat and they have been put outside with my Ceroxylon alpinum and Ceroxylon sassimae seeds. 

[comic097]

Checked today, bought 20 not sure about the others as I only pulled a couple out and there it was in all it’s glory

theres a few boys here in oz that have also had great results germinating these 

[joe_OC]

3 hours ago, comic097 said:

Checked today, bought 20 not sure about the others as I only pulled a couple out and there it was in all it’s glory

theres a few boys here in oz that have also had great results germinating these 

Can you share how you germinated them:

What was the method?  

What was the temperature?

How long did it take?

Thanks in advance!

 

 

[comic097]

Joe, I use a mix of 50% perlite ( medium grade ) and 50% vermiculite In a broccoli box, I use this method with all my seeds and it seems to work very well. Spring has sprung here in Australia and we’re gettimg mins of 17C ( 62F) and Max’s 25C  ( 77F) and upwards, the seeds were purchased on the 13-7-18 I put em down in that mix 2nd of August so roughly 8 -9 weeks mate all the best with yours 

Paul 

[Tyrone]

That's good info Paul. I'm only averaging 10.6C min and 19.6C max at the moment so mine may not come up until mid summer in a few months.

[comic097]

Tyrone I also put my broccoli boxes up against the house wall north facing during the day on top of the wheelie bins, works a treat in winter / spring 

 

 

 

[Matt in OC]

Bump. Any updates on this seed?