Re: Philodendron seeds

From: Tom Croat <croat at mobot.org> on 1997.01.23 at 17:02:13(222) Eduardo: I have good luck sending aroid seeds in the mail. It is true that most tropical aroids must be kept moist in transport. However, I have found that sending them with the pericarp and especially the mesocarp is hazardous since the this is where most of the sugar content is and this creates the possibility of fungal attack. I have learned that by washing off the mesocarp the seeds arrive better. However, when you remove the coating you must prevent dehydration. I do this by a proper balance of seed to dry newspaper. If for example you have 20 fresh seed of Anthurium you might want to use a square of newspaper 15 cm wide. Place the seeds in the middle, fold it up and then put the packet into a small sealed plastic bag. Some effort needs to made to prevent them from being crushed, such as by using bubble wrap. Seeds of most species handled in this manner may survive a month or more. Cleaning large seeds like Anthurium is best done in a seive. I crush the covering off by macerating them lightly with my thumb after placing them in the sieve. This can be done most easily while passing water through the seive. Once macerated the mixture of seeds and seed covering can poured into an open mouthed jar, topped with lid, then shaked vigorously. This will cause the seeds and the various parts to be further separated. The one can simply decant off the pericarps because once separated from the seed these usually float to the surface. Once you pour out most of the water most of the pericarp and other residue will flow over the edge of the jar while the heavier seeds will sink to the bottom. Seeds that actually float and which are unattached to the pericarp may be inviable anyway. With a couple of shakings and decantings one ca easily clean hundreds of seeds. Remember to keep the resulting packets moist but not wet so the proper balance of water and paper is important. This method I have used for 25 years with great success. I often wonder if there isn't something in the ink from the newsprint that keeps down the bacterial and fungal infections. Tom +More Missouri Botanical Garden Box 299, St. Louis, MO 63166 > > Dear Neil, > > Alvim Siedel is the man of the "Orquideario Catarinense" and has been in > the business for a long time (say 40 years or more!). I think he is > already gone, but his family still take care of business. As Al Wootten > said, he have regularly advertised in the American Orchid Society Journal > since the 70's and I think he was the only Brazilian who could export > native plants for profit! I have never ordered from them and I haven't > heard from them lately (for the last 4 years) but if he still is in the > business, he is the best aroud here. You better contact them an check it on! > > About raising Philos from seeds, I can share my little experience. All > seeds I already tried was very easy to germinate. You just have to keep it > moist for less than a week and the radicule sprout. Meanwhile, the > difficulty is on seed storage and long term transport. They seem to > dehydrate quickly. It also seems that seeds from subgenus Meconostigma (P. > bipinnatifidum, P. undulatum,etc) are somewhat resistent but seeds from > subgenera Philodendron and Pteromyschum are too fragile. I think that the > best way to transport and storage them is just inside the berry but it > never resisted more than a month here in Brazil. I never tried to keep the > berry in the refrigerator but a friend of mine did it and told me that he > could germinate well more than a month under refrigeration. > > Hope it helps > > Eduardo. > > >

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