Re(2): Leguminosae and folding leaves...
- To: t*@xtra.co.nz
- Subject: Re(2): Leguminosae and folding leaves...
- From: B*@monterey.edu (Barry Garcia)
- Date: Mon, 06 Sep 1999 18:14:55 -0700
theryans@xtra.co.nz writes:
>alternatively the cotyledons may stay inside the
>seedcoat and just feed their stored nutriment into the elongating shoot
>(Hypogeal germination). I am not familiar with Moringa and its
>germination, but it is obviously from your description hypogeal and you
>won't see the cotyledons at all.
>
>Moira
I was doing a little exploring around the seed (moving the soil away a
bit) and i noticed that the seedling is in fact connected to the seed by
way of a short "stem". So, you are right, it looks like its hypogeal. The
other seeds that I have noticed this with are California Buckeyes.
I hope to use the Moringa for vegetables (the leaves are eaten along with
young seed pods and even flowers). I havent tasted the leaves but i am
curious. The seeds were cheap (5.00 US, including shipping and handling
for about 10 large seeds). I hear the trees can stand light frost and are
fairly drought tolerant (they grow thick tuberous roots).
Even if I dont like the leaves, the tree becomes a very pretty feathery
small tree if you pollard it (in regions where it is utilized, they just
cut the top off and it re-sprouts from the trunk much more bushier than if
left alone). It also grows well from cuttings, since in many regions they
use it for living fence posts. They just cut the branches off and stick
them in the ground.
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"Raw to the floor like reservoir dogs" - A.V. Helden
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