Orchid Seed Capsules
Not all capsules will carry seed; even the fattest. capsules can be found to be empty. Similarly, not all seeds are fertile. Because they are so minute, it is impossible to identify the fertility of individual seeds without the aid of a microscope. A small powered, 75 to ioo magnification, student’s microscope is ideal for this purpose. A sprinkling of seeds on a slide will quickly reveal whether they are fertile. Soaking a few seeds in a solution of sugar water for twenty- four hours will make them swell, and this will make it easier to study them under the microscope.
Although ripe and ready to leave the capsule, the orchid seed is nevertheless very immature. It consists of merely a single cell held in an open network of a husk. Preparation to sow should be made at once, as fertility quickly drops once the seed is isolated from the capsule although it is possible to store orchid seed for short periods under dry and refrigerated conditions.
Orchid seed is carried in thermals to very high altitudes where it can remain suspended in deep freeze until it gradually drifts back to earth to germinate.
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