Amana seeds - recalcitrant?

[arisaema]

Does anyone have experience with storing Amana seeds, can they take drying out like normal Tulipa seeds, or do they need to be moist packed?

[arisaema]

I'll bump this once in the hopes that someone might know? August found a couple of suppliers of seeds of A. edulis and A. anhuiensis - and possibly A. wanzhensis - but if they're recalcitrant it might not be worth the cost and troubles. The seeds can be seen here, with huge elaiosomes on a triangular seed not unlike some tulips and Frits: http://ppbc.iplant.cn/tu/3442516

[Maggi Young]

Reading the  abstract  for this paper, 'Effects of culture conditions on in vitro bulblet induction in the medicinal plant Amana edulis (Miq.) Honda '  one  gets the impression that speed of production for  nedicinal purposes  is  key - and  faster than seed, of  course ...

Article
Effects of culture conditions on in vitro bulblet induction in the medicinal plant Amana edulis (Miq.) Honda
Zaibiao Zhu, Lifang Zhu, Qiaosheng Guo, Jianluo Lin, Yuanyuan Miao & Xiaohua Yang

 The Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology
Volume 92, 2017 - Issue 6  Pages 660-667

 Published online: 11 Apr 2017

ABSTRACT

Amana edulis (Miq.) Honda is an important medicinal plant with a variety of anti-cancer properties, and it is of great importance to improve its reproductive rate through micropropagation technology to meet increasing demand. In the present study, in order to establish a rapid in vitro bulblet propagation protocol for A. edulis, an L16 (45) orthogonal design was used to investigate the effects of sucrose, 6-benzyladenine (6-BA), α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), and macro-elements on bulblet induction. The results show that the sucrose concentration was the crucial factor for A. edulis bulblet initiation, followed by 6-BA and macro-elements, while NAA had the weakest effect. The optimal medium for in vitro bulblet induction was Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 0.1 mg·L−1 6-BA, 0.01 mg·L−1 NAA, and 100 g·L−1 or 80 g·L−1 sucrose (pH 5., in which A. edulis shoot clusters (without roots) were cultured at 5(±2)°C for 35 d or 60 d and then incubated at 23(±2)°C for 90 d. The entire cultivation process occurred in the dark. The present study demonstrates that this protocol can be used for the propagation of A. edulis.



Some forum members grow  this plant well I wonder what their  experience is  with seed?

From the  Forum 2016 - from Steve  Garvie 

[arisaema]

They are being dug up by the ton here, it seems, apparently they've even been used as a starch source... It would be nice if they moved to cultivating them, but they are thankfully widespread and common still. One from Hubei below:

[Steve Garvie]

...............Some forum members grow  this plant well I wonder what their  experience is  with seed?

From the  Forum 2016 - from Steve  Garvie 
(Attachment Link)

Whilst Amana edulis grows well for me I believe I began with a single bulb and so only grow a single clone. I have never noted any seed pods and can only assume that it is not self-fertile; though as it flowers early in the year there are not a lot of pollinators around. The bulbs split readily and mature bulbs grow quickly making vegetative propagation a viable option.