PUSHING THE BORDERS

Like Charlie I have also sown some unknown seed.

The seed came from Tanzania and from now on I shall refer to them as black seed and white seed....................




Here are the resulting seedlings (white is on the left).........................


White seed has slightly darker and larger leaves with more rounded ends....................


It also seems to grow more vigorously since they germinated three or four months after black seed (the coat seems harder and less porous).

My best guess is a Cassia species, and I know that this is a big ask, but it would be nice to get an idea of what I'm trying to raise.

The white seeds if they came from the pale pods look like some of the Senna (cassia) seed I have come back from Madeira with, True Cassia like javanica I thought had a more pinnate leaf structure?

OK you pose a big challenge here.

Can you describe the fruiting bodies a bit more? Your picture seems to show pea like pods and something like a loofa! Which seed came from which pod?

It is odd that such different seed and pod have produced such similar seedlings. Could they have gotten at all confused? Your picture does show them mixed. I wonder if you have two seedlings from one colour and none from the other.

The pea pod would suggest Fabaceae, and I think the white seeds would fit that. The dark seeds don’t look like ‘peas’ at all and I suspect came from the other pod.

Cassia have even pinnate leaves [no terminal leaflet] so even allowing that theses are immature leaves [they may get more leaflets on later leaves] Cassia seems unlikely. Given the current size though I think this is always going to have a trifoliate leaf.

I think Cassia seed are a bit more ‘pea’ like as well.

Are they from a tree a shrub or an herb; cultivated or wild; likely to be a food crop or an ornamental?

Chad

Ps. Sorry that didn’t help a lot!

Thanks chaps! I'm beginning to doubt whether or not they may have been mixed up now! The dark seed came from the dark pods.

I knew that it was a tall ask, so thanks for the responses anyway. I'll sow some more to check that I'm correct...................

If they grew from the white seeds could they be a Crotalaria perhaps?

JohnJearrard wrote:If they grew from the white seeds could they be a Crotalaria perhaps?

I do believe that you're correct! It's too cold for the blooms to open properly, but I took it (white seed plant) out of the greenhouse for this shot...................