Nice article, Reid, a seed is a miracle in dormant form. I share your sense of wonder every spring when I see a living plant sprouting from a tiny seed I've planted. But I often wonder if we tend to over-use the term "heirloom". It's a much catchier designation than "OP" but many experts think there is a distinction.
Craig LeHoullier says "An heirloom is an open-pollinateed variety that has history and value embedded within its story" and goes on to point out that all heirlooms are OP but not all OP varieties are heirlooms.
In her book (which has Heirloom in it's title!) Carolyn Male says her sympathies lie with the camp that says heirlooms have been passed down within the same extended family for generations. Both authors point out that most varieties available commercially before the 1940's were OP while after that "the vast majority of new varieties were hybrids". And to make things worse, there is the term "commercial heirloom" some people use, which I can only guess may mean a variety from a well-known hybridizer which has been grown out or "de-hybridized" until it is OP.
Regardless of which side of the heirloom definition argument one is on, I would hope that we could agree that the two distinct variety types are hybrid and open-pollinated. If we describe all non hybrid varieties as heirlooms, we are in danger of losing any meaning to that term, much as the term "organic" has been blurred in recent history (but I don't want to open that can of worms here!).
