Field of Science

Are jackfruit seeds viable?

A curious reader wants to know, so TPP shall tell them, yes.  Now a real curious reader would have bought a hunk of jackfruit for no other reason than planting the seeds.  Our goddess of the greenhouse wondered the same thing, and since she has a greenhouse, she planted a dozen or so seeds 5 months ago according to the tag (end of September 2916).  Here's a couple in the pots foreground; They are now substantial seedlings and their leaves are beginning to look like the mature leaves with largish lobes. Note newest lobed leaves on the left seedling and simple unlobed leaves on the right one. Now who knows what she will do with these seedlings?  At maturity the trees are substantial and if you produced 60-100 lb fruits, you'd be substantial too.  This is how you satisfy your botanical curiosity.  Growing up a lot of people would plant and try to grow whatever seeds or seed -containing pits they got from fresh tropical fruit.  Avocados were favorites, but so were the various citrus fruits.  This doesn't seem so popular any more.  The one that surprises most people are dates whose seed are often viable.

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