Dear Friends,
I enticed an answer for John Ingram from a shy lurker on the Bulb
Forum. Here is what he had to say. Joyce
Dear Joyce,
While not very experienced with Hymenocallis, the description of the
'seeds' as being angular makes me think that what is being described are
actually the ovaries, being sessile at the top of the peduncle and at the
base of the floral tube. On all of the various ones I bloomed this year, the
ovaries have a distinct angularity to them. I have also observed a size
difference of the ovaries on individual scapes. In the H. liriosme that
produced seeds, there were multiple seeds within each ovary. I also observed
what appeared to be multiple ovum within a dissected ovary of H. coronaria.
It is my understanding that all the seeds are rounded or oval and that is
what I have observed. The seeds that I have seen have all been green. When
ovaries do not produce seed, I have obsrved, in some cases, that they fall
individually from their attachment just above the spathe valves. This might
give the appearance of shedding of seeds but is more likely simply the
shedding of failed ovaries.
Kevin Preuss could provide much better info on this than I can.
Jim