Category: Seed of the Week (Page 33 of 167)

Seed of the Week: Clematis

As Craig guessed, our golf-club-shaped seeds from last week were from a clematis.

deep-red-clematis-vineWhen you think of clematis, you likely think of the vine with the big, brightly-colored flowers.

full red clematisThese are the typical garden or cultivated clematis.

Our seeds came from a clematis that is a little different.

old-man-clematis-best-leafIt is still a vine.

old-man-clematis-flower-233Even though the flowers are pretty, however, they are small and lack the big, showy petals.

another-clematis-seed-podIn fact, the seed heads are more showy than the flowers.

clematis-seed-podThe common name for this species is “old man clematis.”

old-man-clematis-flower-seed-beard-22When the vine is hanging in a tree, the seed heads do look like beards.

old-man-clematis-flower-123Showy flowers or not, it still is an interesting plant.

What kind of clematis do you grow?  Have you ever seen the seeds?

Mystery Seed of the Week 210

Our mystery seeds (achenes) have a fuzzy “tail.”

mystery-seed-210-11Maybe you can see the feathery or plumose part better on this one:

Mystery-seed-210-1Do you recognize what plant these seeds are from? If you choose to, please leave a comment with your ideas.

New mystery seeds and Seed of the Week answers are posted on Tuesdays.

Seed of the Week: Tepary Beans

Our mystery seeds from last week were tepary beans, Phaseolus acutifolius.

tepary-bean-leaf-11Tepary bean plants look like any other bean, but they have slightly finer leaves. Even though they look delicate, these hardy tepary beans can grow under the most stressful conditions where most other plants whither away. Their main characteristic is that they are incredibly drought tolerant. Tepary beans only need one rain to germinate. The roots reach deeper into the soil than other beans, so tepary beans can produce fruit with very little moisture. In fact, overwatering inhibits seed production.

tepary-bean-seedling-closeThey have been grown for food for centuries in the Southwest.

tepary-bean-flowerSome cultivated tepary beans have delicate white flowers.

phaseolus-flower

The wild types are often light to dark pink.

brown-tepary-bean(Photograph by Tracey Slotta @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database)

The beans themselves come in a variety of colors, including brown like these, rust, beige,

mystery-seeds-209white, and as you can see from a nonprofit organization that sells them, Native Seeds, a variety of other colors.

The beans have a low glycemic index and are high in fiber.

You can learn more about growing and using tepary beans in a .pdf pamphlet from The University of Arizona and this website from the Tohono O’odham Community.

Have you ever grown or eaten tepary beans?

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