Comments on: Experimenting with the Tree of Life

By: Mark Yokoyama

Mark Yokoyama — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 13:09:32 +0000

In reply to Kara. I have also had success with just cleaning them and keeping them in a damp container. I use a jar and shake it up with some water and then drain every day or two to avoid mold. I usually get some germination within a week, peaking at about two weeks.

By: Kara

Kara — Sat, 28 May 2022 01:32:16 +0000

So, I’ve been trying to germinate using this method, but I keep having a high instance of mold even without the aril

By: Bryan Steinberg

Bryan Steinberg — Tue, 14 Jan 2020 22:21:26 +0000

I harvested seeds from lignum vitae in south florida. 12 seeds grew into small plants. I used your recommended method at least half of the original seeds germinated in several days. The problem was I planted them individually in jiffy mix seed growing medium. This caused most of the newly germinated seeds to rot out soon after they came up. I think it is better to plant them in well drained soil.

By: Robin

Robin — Thu, 29 Aug 2019 00:40:55 +0000

”Could the birds digestive tract actually digest the tough seed coat, and, eliminating the seed with its fecal matter would allow for germination, just as you scraped off the outer seed coat?”

Well, according to this book https://natuurwijzer.naturalis.nl/media/459 from 1954 by Frater Arnoldo, who did a study about this, the germination rate seems to be significantly higher after having passed trough a birds digestive system. It are mainly the chuchibi’s (tropical mockingbird – mimus gilvus) and troepiaals (Icterus Icterus) which do this and are responsable for spreading the seeds away from the parent tree

By: Robin

Robin — Thu, 29 Aug 2019 00:29:08 +0000

Btw, this article :https://journals.flvc.org/fshs/article/view/100471
is about Guayacan Sanctum, which is not the same as Guayacan Oficinales. Verawood (Bulnesia Arborea) is also called Lignum Vitae, but only Guayacan Oficinales is called TRUE Lignum Vitae and it is the tree shown in the picture on the top of this page.

By: Robin

Robin — Wed, 28 Aug 2019 15:54:52 +0000

Luckily, we don’t have that problem over here. Guayacan Oficinales grows abundently here in Curaçao, the caribbean. The trees flower multiple times a year and each time they do, they shed hundreds of seeds. Everywhere small seedlings pop up, especially after a good rainshower. Underneath one tree in my garden I found a whole forrest of seedlings. The easiest way is to dig up a seedling and plant it in a pot. You must be quick though, because it’s pen root grows down incredibly fast. I also filled a container with potting soil last year and scattered a handfull of seeds in it. After a while, one after another they kept coming…i must have had at least 15 seedlings ready to grow. I selected a few and from november 2018 to august 2019 they grew to 60-65 cm.

By: Mark Yokoyama

Mark Yokoyama — Thu, 15 Aug 2019 15:55:43 +0000

In reply to Ryan Stachurski. Thanks! I updated the link.

By: Ryan Stachurski

Ryan Stachurski — Tue, 06 Aug 2019 14:53:45 +0000

Here is the updated link cited above: https://journals.flvc.org/fshs/article/view/100471

By: Mark Yokoyama

Mark Yokoyama — Wed, 10 Apr 2019 20:40:47 +0000

In reply to Scott. Sorry for the late reply, but soak first and then you can scrape off the coating with a thumbnail.

By: Gordon Xu

Gordon Xu — Sun, 07 Apr 2019 11:23:57 +0000

I have been searching on the internet, I think this is the best method. I used the grinding wheel to do the job, a lot faster than using a knife. Thank you for sharing