Viability of needle palm seeds from a hermaphroditic plant

[N8ALLRIGHT]

Pretty much what it says. I'd already posted on the topic in an old thread over in the discussing palms worldwide forum. Not a lot of traction. Guess needle palms aren't very sexy compared to all the exotic stuff most of them can grow. Figured I'd ask here, anyway this plant has produced male flowers in the past. Don't recall seeing them last year tho. I float tested several, they sank. I split one with a set of pliers and I think that's an embryo in the image but  it could just be seed material damage? Just looking for some opinions, it produced seeds last year but nothing like this. 5 years in ground from a 3 gal purchased from NEohio palms.

[Allen]

Probably viable see if @teddytn has any germination tips.  Did you see male and female blooms on same trunk or do you have 2 plants together?  That needle seems very thick

[N8ALLRIGHT]

It's one plant. It has two decent size suckers. Main trunk is just shy of a foot tall, probably 8 in across . I don't recall male flowers last year but to be honest I wasn't looking for them.  I saw an image that showed a monoecious flower from a needle and the male flowers were at the end and the seeds produced closer to the trunk.  I'm thinking that is the case here. 

[tarnado]

Awesome! I hope you have a real hermaphrodite there!

Re: viability of seeds

Most plants that are dioecious adopt the strategy, despite its downsides, to maximize outcrossing and genetic diversity in offspring... AND because of this, they don't have other mechanisms to prevent self-pollination. I do not know for real about this specific species, but I would reckon any self-pollinated seeds would be viable based on other species.

[Bigfish]

Hard to see if there’s an embryo there.  Make a clean cut with some sharp pruners.  But there’s a pretty good chance that they are viable seeds.  

[Chester B]

I had a decent sized female needle palm with no mature males nearby.  It would flower and set seed, but the seed would eventually start to look bad and if you pinched the seeds between your fingers they would collapse.  They were mostly hollow , so there could be hope for yours.

[N8ALLRIGHT]

Here's cut with pruners. I think that's the embryo 

@Bigfish what do you think?

[Bigfish]

12 hours ago, N8ALLRIGHT said:

Here's cut with pruners. I think that's the embryo 

@Bigfish what do you think?

Yep, that's an embryo!