This plant grows only in the Southwest, so I’ll give you a few hints.
When the seed is on the plant it is covered. I have opened the covering here.
The seeds are large, about the size of an almond. They are not edible but the plant is useful and is sometimes grown as a crop.
Any guesses?
Edit: The answer is now posted.
Yes, the mystery seeds from last week were from the strawberry plant, genus Fragaria.
We see the seeds (technically achenes) all the time, because the plant displays them proudly on the outside of the fruit. But how much have you thought about strawberry seeds?
For example, can you plant strawberry seeds and grow a new strawberry plant?
You have probably seen strawberry plants at the nursery. You might even have grown them yourself.
Although those starter plants are convenient and speed up the arrival of an edible crop, the answer is that you can grow strawberries from seeds.
Our garden strawberries are the result of a cross between two different species of strawberries. Varieties have been developed from those original crosses. Some varieties will grow true to their parents, and others will be a new mix. If you want to be sure to grow reliable strawberries, you can get packets of strawberry seeds from a nursery or online.
But what fun is that? 🙂 Being scientists to the core, we want to find out for ourselves. We have taken some fresh strawberries from the grocery store, blended them in the blender for a few seconds and then spread them on some moist potting mix. We covered the seeds lightly with soil, and will let you know our results.
One question you may have is whether the seeds need a cold period, like apples do. That is one variable we need to examine. One scientific paper I examined suggested that the seeds do not necessarily need a cold treatment.
Source: An improved technique for the germination of strawberry seeds
Have you ever grown strawberries? (I know someone who left a comment on the mystery seed post grew them commercially). How about from seed? If you give it a try, be sure to let us know what happens.
More people would probably have recognized the mystery seeds from last week as lemon seeds if I had used this photograph:
Lemon trees, Citrus limon, grow where there is little chance of frost.
Here in Phoenix, Arizona they flower from late February to March.
Honey bees love the flowers.
The flowers are incredibly fragrant.
Right now the tree is loaded with green lemons. A wise citrus grower once told me that the lemons are often ripe inside before their rinds are fully yellow outside. In any case, the green ones have a pleasant lime-like odor.
The fruit will be turning yellow by November. The fruit stays on the tree until after it flowers in March.
As I mentioned in a previous post, citrus trees can produce seeds that are identical to the parent without pollination. You can grow new trees from the seeds.
The leaves are simple and oval and stay on the tree throughout the year. In fact, we have used lemon tree leaves for out tree leaf age experiment.
The bark is gray and relatively smooth.
Lemon trees tend to produce large quantities of fruit. If you grow a lemon tree, it pays to have a lot of recipes at the ready.
One of our favorites comes from my cousin Karen.
Glazed Lemon Bread
Glaze:
Preheat oven to 325 ° F. Grease an 8 by 4 by 2 loaf pan.
In a standard mixing bowl, mix oil and sugar, and then stir in lemon juice. Add eggs one at a time.
Sift together flour and baking powder. Add to oil/lemon mix alternately with milk. Add the lemon rind and mix thoroughly.
Turn out batter into greased loaf pan and bake 45 minutes. Prepare the glaze of lemon and sugar in a small bowl. At 45 minutes, remove the lemon loaf from the oven (it will be hot), and brush or drizzle evenly with the glaze. Return to the 325°F oven for another 5 minutes.
Serve with lovely hot tea with a twist of lemon.
Lemons are also an inexpensive source of mild acid for fun science experiments.
As another science experiment you could test whether you really need to add salt to baked goods. Make one loaf of lemon bread with the salt and one without. See if you notice any differences. (I tend to leave the salt out).
What is your favorite recipe that uses lemons?
For more information, see Roberta Gibson Writes.
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