Re: Nymphaea zenkeri - collecting fruit/seeds?

[krombhol at teclink_net (Paul Krombholz)]

>From: Jim Wilson <freaks at aracnet_com>
>Subject: Nymphaea zenkeri - collecting fruit/seeds?
>
>After two and a half years of keeping my tiger lotus neat and trimmed I let
>it go wild.  About four months of letting the leaves reach the surface it
>shot up a flower stalk which opened yesterday.  My understanding is the
>flowers are self pollinating.  So do I need to assist in the pollinating or
>will nature just take it's course?
>
>If the flower does go to seed are they easily recognized and about how long
>does the process take? how are the collected? and what the heck do you do
>with the seed to propagate them?
>
>


I wouldn't let nature take its course, but would take a paint brush and try
to paint the pollen from the stamens over the green part in the middle of
the flower.  Many plants have mechanisms to prevent self-fertilizing.
Let's hope this species does not.  If the self-fertilizing is successful,
it might take a long time for the seeds to develop.  The seeds should be
about the size of peas and have a very hard seed coat.  The seed coat must
be cut or "scarified" with a knife to get germination.  I read somewhere
that lotus seeds can stay dormant for many years if the seed coat is left
intact.  I think I recall reading that Lotus seeds hold the record for
longevity in seeds.






Paul Krombholz, in not-as-dry central Mississippi

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