How it begins

Theoretically, we know that during germination the radicle emerges at the micropylar end of the seeds; in practice, it is not that easy to figure out where that would be, especially for Aristolochia seeds which look a bit peculiar. Just few seeds of Aristolochia steupii remained in moist storage (it happens in many cases) and so we now have the answer. In some species of Aristolochia (birthworts) the seeds present an aril on the dorsal side, practically a ‘strophiole’ (see the note).

Apart the nerdy seed stuff, I am glad to announce that ahead of the new season I managed to revamp a bit the front page. I hope the new look brings more to ‘front’ and into focus, the wealth of information that has been gathered on the website about seeds and germination and particularly about the species with hydrophilic seeds = moist packed seeds category, and how to handle them for the best outcome: https://botanicallyinclined.org/

Many North American wildflowers are included in this category and, despite the huge amount of work, we remain committed to providing good quality seeds to ensure the best possible germination. No DOD’s from BotanyCa!

Don’t forget, there is also the Search button which can be easily used to retrieve info about a particular subject. For example, writing Aristolochia in the search tab on the front page/blog will bring out 12 results (meaning Aristolochia name was used in 12 writing/products).

Despite the weather, the spring is here and more and more seeds, seedlings and plants are realizing this.
So, there will be less writing and more ‘doing’. Short announcements will be made about flowering and other spring happenings (what seeds will be available we can only know much later into the season).

*Strophiole: http://www.mobot.org/mobot/latindict/keyDetail.aspx?keyWord=strophiole