That is absolutely amazing. I never thought about checking to see if seeds are viable.
I noticed that about half of my amarylis x belladonna blooms have produced seed pods that are becoming large and showing signs of seed inside. The other half are just fading away and not enlarging.
So now when the seed pods are ready to harvest I will know how to check for viability. Thank you so much Joe.

OK Joe, now your secret is out! I like it! I think one could sit and hold that in their lap to do the work. Beats busting my back for hours over the Pyrex pie plate on the lamp shade!

You will need to experiment, Lynn. Candling like this doesn't work with the vast majority of seeds. Sometimes the seeds are just too tiny, but usually it is because light does not penetrate through the seed enough to see "life". And even if it does, sometimes it's just not a reliable method. Knowing what to look for can also be a stumbling block, since embryos (live and dead) can look very different (or similar) in different types of seed.

Would it work for the Amaryllis x belladonna?

Looking at how big and thick those seeds are, I'd say it's doubtful. But you won't know until you try.
https://www.google.com/search?...

Once you have the light box set up, you'll be able to try it out on lots of things, not just seeds. Illuminated leaves, for instance, can show a lot of intricate veining that is really quite beautiful!

Ingenuity like this just tickles me. Nice post!

I will say that Rick is right, that if the seeds are thick it will definitely be harder. This is something that works particularly well for lilies and that is all I've used it for so far.You can go with the LED lights that are a little more costly but definitely brighter. Also, if it is too bright I throw some tissue paper or a blank peice of printer paper over the box to nut the light a little bit.

Thank you for the link Rick. Those seeds are on the large side.

Best idea to come along in my 20 plus years of sorting lily seed!

Thanks Lorn. That means a lot coming from you. In the month or so I've been using it I've switched to LED tap lights. The other ones were just too cheap and not functioning well. If it was too bright I put a peice of tissue paper under it and I've had no static cling problems with the box at all. As a matter of fact I've used the groove in the front of the box to help separate the good seed from the chaff.

I have the stuff to make my box. Smaller than the typical craft box and one LED tap light. It is indeed bright enough to need a sheet of paper over it. I'm going to need it soon as my entire kitchen table is covered with paper cups, mostly lily seeds but a few others too.

Thanks Joe for the tmail tip to prefer LED over conventional .