How 'bout these tough seeds
- To: perennials@mallorn.com
- Subject: How 'bout these tough seeds
- From: F* L*
- Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2000 18:49:03 -0600
Hello, fellow perennialists--
Here are some interesting facts about old seeds that still sprout. This
came from another list.
Forrest (Oklahoma City)
The oldest known viable seeds were found in 1954 in a lemming burrow
in Canada's frigid Yukon. The burrow, which was buried in silt and
sediment, had been frozen since the last ice age.
The arctic tundra lupine seeds (Lupinus arcticus) were found with
lemming remains that were at least 10,000 years old. When they were
placed in favorable conditions, several seeds sprouted within 48
hours. One of the plants later bloomed.
Other cases of extremely old seeds that sprouted include a
3400-year-old bean from the tomb of Tutankhamun and water lily seeds
that were found with a canoe that had been buried in a bog near Tokyo
for more than 3000 years.
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