How can it be?
 

This isn't about tomatoes but about seeds and plant relatives.

The onion if you guys didn't know is kin to the agave plant.
By way of both being kin to the Lily in some way or the other.
I was out collecting onion seeds and it struck me how much they looked like their cousins the agave seeds.
Here is an example.
The onion seed.
[IMG]http://www.anediblemosaic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/IMG_1421-Small.jpg[/IMG]
The Agave seed.
[IMG]http://pycnanthemum.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/agave-fruit-41.jpg[/IMG]
Lily seed.
[IMG]http://southernpost.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/rain-lily-seed-pod-4.jpg[/IMG]

I could go on forever showing examples of this diverse family of plants and how they have adapted all over the world.


Worth

I didn't know they were related. I learned something new today! Thanks Worth.

[QUOTE=RayR;486839]I didn't know they were related. I learned something new today! Thanks Worth.[/QUOTE]

Ray the idea that I do know it and have for a long time bothers me.:o

I may be some sort of plant geek or nerd.:(

Worth

You say that like it is a bad thing. I am an admitted seed geek. Each time I plant a seed I am fascinated by the germination process and seedling growth as if I had never done it before. The only garden task that is nearly as rewarding is collecting the seeds for next season. The parts in between are where I have to deal with weather issues, insects, critters and plant diseases.

[QUOTE=kayrobbins;486846]You say that like it is a bad thing. I am an admitted seed geek. Each time I plant a seed I am fascinated by the germination process and seedling growth as if I had never done it before. The only garden task that is nearly as rewarding is collecting the seeds for next season. The parts in between are where I have to deal with weather issues, insects, critters and plant diseases.[/QUOTE]


It bothers me when peoples eyes glaze over when I start talking to them about plants.:))
Just the other night I was talking to a guy at work, I fully intended to go to bed and he said high to me.
Some how we got off on plants and this brother plant geek and I stayed up for another 2 hours talking about grafting apples and growing gardens.
I have known this guy for years and had no idea he liked plants.
A big guy, long ponytail biker type.
You just wouldn't see it in either of us.:lol:
I imagine both of our eyes were bugged out like a crack head had found the mother load.:))

Worth

[QUOTE=Worth1;486849]It bothers me when peoples eyes glaze over when I start talking to them about plants.:))
Just the other night I was talking to a guy at work, I fully intended to go to bed and he said high to me.
Some how we got off on plants and this brother plant geek and I stayed up for another 2 hours talking about grafting apples and growing gardens.
I have known this guy for years and had no idea he liked plants.
A big guy, long ponytail biker type.
You just wouldn't see it in either of us.:lol:
I imagine both of our eyes were bugged out like a crack head had found the mother load.:))

Worth[/QUOTE]


:lol::lol::lol:
You know what they say-you can't judge a book by its cover.I have met many plant lovers that don't look the part, myself included. Sometimes I will mention plants by their scientific names and people will stare with mouths agape and those glazed eyes that you mentioned.:))

Is it Lilies where often (depending on the 'species') where either the top grows first and not the root or the root grows first and not the top? -- if I remember correctly I got the seeds to sprout but didn't know how to get them to the next stage.

Another distant cousin of the onion/Lily is my beloved Joshua Tree.

Joshua Tree seeds:
[URL=http://s1298.photobucket.com/user/dadart888/media/2949016926_b4059bbe7a_zpsgxlurfjm.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag58/dadart888/2949016926_b4059bbe7a_zpsgxlurfjm.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

The Joshua Tree has a very interesting partnership with the Yucca Moth. Mother Nature is awesome! [url]http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/pollinator-of-the-month/yucca_moths.shtml[/url]

[QUOTE=pauldavid;486882]:lol::lol::lol:
You know what they say-you can't judge a book by its cover.I have met many plant lovers that don't look the part, myself included. Sometimes I will mention plants by their scientific names and people will stare with mouths agape and those glazed eyes that you mentioned.:))[/QUOTE]
I suppose I don't look the part either. :lol: Imagine a gray haired George Harrison circa 1970.

[QUOTE=pauldavid;486882]:lol::lol::lol:
You know what they say-you can't judge a book by its cover.I have met many plant lovers that don't look the part, myself included. Sometimes I will mention plants by their scientific names and people will stare with mouths agape and those glazed eyes that you mentioned.:))[/QUOTE]

My poor family is SO tired of me talking about my plants. I try to stop myself or at least keep it short but I don't have much of a filter. I'm so thrilled that I found Tomatoville. You guys are so good to talk to!:lol:

[QUOTE=Mojave;489277]Another distant cousin of the onion/Lily is my beloved Joshua Tree.

Joshua Tree seeds:
[URL="http://s1298.photobucket.com/user/dadart888/media/2949016926_b4059bbe7a_zpsgxlurfjm.jpg.html"][IMG]http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag58/dadart888/2949016926_b4059bbe7a_zpsgxlurfjm.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

The Joshua Tree has a very interesting partnership with the Yucca Moth. Mother Nature is awesome! [URL]http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/pollinator-of-the-month/yucca_moths.shtml[/URL]


I suppose I don't look the part either. :lol: Imagine a gray haired George Harrison circa 1970.[/QUOTE]

Bill I saw a poor Joshua Tree for sell on line the picture showed it just sitting in a garage like it had been rapidly dug up.
I bet it was poached or stolen.


Worth

Sorry, wrong thread.

[QUOTE=Worth1;489392]Bill I saw a poor Joshua Tree for sell on line the picture showed it just sitting in a garage like it had been rapidly dug up.
I bet it was poached or stolen.


Worth[/QUOTE]
I'll bet it was too. "Lifting" plants from the desert has become a big problem. I've seen fools dig up Joshua Trees and Saguaros (illegal without a permit) only to take them home to die. What's the point? I've also seen people shoot Joshua Trees, Saguaros, Barrel cactus etc. in half just because they can. These plants may be well over a hundred years old, but they don't care. I've also seen what people can do to petroglyphs and pictographs (thousands of years old) with a gun. It's sickening. I'm a shooter myself so this isn't an anti gun rant, it's an anti idiot rant.

[QUOTE=Mojave;489563]I'll bet it was too. "Lifting" plants from the desert has become a big problem. I've seen fools dig up Joshua Trees and Saguaros (illegal without a permit) only to take them home to die. What's the point? I've also seen people shoot Joshua Trees, Saguaros, Barrel cactus etc. in half just because they can. These plants may be well over a hundred years old, but they don't care. I've also seen what people can do to petroglyphs and pictographs (thousands of years old) with a gun. It's sickening. I'm a shooter myself so this isn't an anti gun rant, it's an anti idiot rant.[/QUOTE]


Along with shooting the cacti another thing that is popular is cactus jumping or diving.
This is where people jump into a cactus which in turn hurts the plant.
Idiots indeed.

Worth

QUOTE "I've also seen what people can do to petroglyphs and pictographs (thousands of years old) with a gun. It's sickening. I'm a shooter myself so this isn't an anti gun rant, it's an anti idiot rant. "
When I worked at a small mine, the powder magazine had to have a "danger explosives" sign on it. The regs said it must be placed so a bullet piercing the sign does not enter the magazine. Even the government protects idiots.

[QUOTE=Mojave;489563]I'll bet it was too. "Lifting" plants from the desert has become a big problem. I've seen fools dig up Joshua Trees and Saguaros (illegal without a permit) only to take them home to die. What's the point? I've also seen people shoot Joshua Trees, Saguaros, Barrel cactus etc. in half just because they can. These plants may be well over a hundred years old, but they don't care. I've also seen what people can do to petroglyphs and pictographs (thousands of years old) with a gun. It's sickening. I'm a shooter myself so this isn't an anti gun rant, it's an anti idiot rant.[/QUOTE]
I was born and raised in the little town of Bishop Ca. I have since moved but have relatives that still live there....anyways. A little over a year ago some idiots went out to the local petroglyphs, used a gas powered chop saw with a diamond blade and cut out chunks of the rocks to steal the petroglylphs. They were only successful with one or two petroglyphs however they put so many slices in them that pretty much the entire area was ruined. Now a cool place i used to take my kids is fenced off and destroyed forever.