Fruits and Seeds
The ovary usually develops in a capsule is Dehiscent of 3 or 6 longitudinal grooves, while the rest are closed at both ends. The maturity of a capsule may be from 2 to 18 months.
The seeds are almost microscopic and very numerous, in some ways more than one million per capsule. After maturing to dust particles or spores. Lack of Endosperm and should be in a symbiotic relationship with mycorrhizal fungi basidiomyceteous which it with various nutrients necessary for germination, so that all types of orchids that mycoheterotrophic during germination and depend on the mushrooms to their life cycle.
Since the possibility of a seed, with a montage of mushrooms is very small, only a fraction of all the seeds grow into a free adult. In cultivation, germination usually takes weeks, while there is a report of a Paphiopedilum, the fifteen years.
Cross-section of an Orchids capsule, the longitudinal slits
Horticultural techniques have been developed for the germination of seeds in a gel with nutrients, which is a prerequisite for the germination of the fungus, which helps the spread of natural building stones orchids.
The most important component for planting orchids in artificial conditions is the agar-agar. The substance is used in conjunction with some form of carbohydrates (actually a form of glucose), the quality organic feed. This substance can be the banana, pineapple, peach or tomato paste or coconut milk. After the burning of agar-agar (must be cooked in sterile conditions), the mixture in jars or tubes, where the substance begins to jelly. The seeds must be on the plate over boiling water into steam, which ensures sterile conditions. The tubes are diagonally.
