I recently received a couple of these seeds from RPS and the sarcotesta is very hard and firm even after 3 days of soaking; is this an indication that the seed is not yet ripe, or should I just scrape/cut it off? In all other tropical Zamias I have germinated the sarcotestae became soft and easily removed after one or two days of soaking. Not grown this species before, however, so if someone who has could chip in, that would be most appreciated.

I read that this cycad is spread from tree to tree by one arboreal species of mustelid, so having a hard fruit more easily clenched in the teeth might be a feature rather than a bug, and not an indicator of unripeness. But that's just speculation on my part. They were rather expensive seeds, so I'd love to know what the done thing is in this case.

Many thanks.

Edited January 27, 20233 yr by PalmsandLiszt

The seed in my opinion should be planted right after collected. I have seen them sprout in days. If the seed is still hard I would lay it on your preferred media and cross your fingers . I grew the ones in the pic from seed that I had set on a friends plants and they sprouted within a week

19 hours ago, John hovancsek said:

The seed in my opinion should be planted right after collected. I have seen them sprout in days. If the seed is still hard I would lay it on your preferred media and cross your fingers . I grew the ones in the pic from seed that I had set on a friends plants and they sprouted within a week

Thanks for the advice; I know the tropical Zamias do tend to germinate very quickly. I'm just worried about the flesh causing fungi and rot. I think I'll just try to scrape it off and plant the seeds. The little mammal would probably have gnawed if off in the wild. Also the sarcotesta inhibits germination in a lot of cycads, although maybe not in this case, as it is atypical. Did you get and plant your seeds with sarcotesta?

Your seedlings are looking good; are you growing them in 100% black lava rock or are there any organics in there? I can't get the black lava you have on Hawaii, but I have pumice, which I hope is a reasonable substitute.

Yes but think I used lava a small amount of peat and some smaller orchid bark

Clean the seed off soak for a day or 2 then place seed half way in the soil. 

17 hours ago, John hovancsek said:

Clean the seed off soak for a day or 2 then place seed half way in the soil. 

Thanks, I shall follow your advice. This is a cycad I've long wanted.

I think the sarcotesta must also be a germination-inhibitor here. One of the seeds is now germinating after one day in water now I have scraped it off (which was quite difficult, as it was still very tough, like an extremely under-ripe lychee). I guess when the little mammal has taken the seeds to a different part of the canopy, and then returned to scrape off all the flesh, the seed then knows it's in a different place and germinates.