Viewing post #696276 by Leftwood

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Sep 9, 2014 10:40 PM CST
Name: Rick R.
Minneapolis,MN, USA z4b,Dfb/a
Garden Photography The WITWIT Badge Seed Starter Wild Plant Hunter Region: Minnesota Hybridizer
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Yes, the clear seeds are chaff (empty seed). With a good light behind, typical viable lily seeds have visible endosperm and embryos, similar to this:

Thumb of 2014-09-10/Leftwood/586867 Thumb of 2014-09-10/Leftwood/be783f
The embryos are the lines in the center parts of the seeds.

Many of us make it a practice to plant the chaff anyway, however. Sometimes the embryo hides or is infinitesimally small, and it is missed. With my ten years of lily seed planting experience, I do discard most of the chaff material, but anything that may have the slightest possibility of being viable, I plant. Using a light box or a flashlight app on your phone is a great way to employ the backlighting needed to determine possible viability of lily seed.
When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the losers. - Socrates

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