[SOS-PCA] When is Poa secunda ripe?

[Sarah De Groot]

Thanks to the many people who replied!

There was quite a lot of variation among the responses, but here's what I
gleaned:
--Best to wait until the inflorescence turns from greenish to tan/brown and
the inflorescence stem is dry. Purplish awns are about 1 week from mature.
--Seeds that are falling easily from the inflorescence are almost certainly
mature, but once the inflorescence is tan, the whole thing can be picked
without much harm to viability.
--Seeds should be stripped from brown inflorescences as much as possible.
Bend can deal with some stems but they should be 6 inches or less. If time
is limited, whole inflorescences can be collected in the field and stripped
later, before sending to Bend.

Last week two of my sites had lovely tan inflorescences with seeds falling
out, so I went to town.

Thanks everyone!

Sarah

California Botanic Garden/Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden (RSA-POM
herbarium)
Claremont, California, USA




On Mon, May 11, 2020 at 8:19 AM Sarah De Groot <sdegroot at rsabg.org> wrote:

> Hi Seed Collectors,
>
> Can anyone offer advice on how to tell when Poa secunda seed is ready to
> collect? I assume that if the inflorescence is falling apart that it's
> probably dispersing and therefore ready, but can it be picked any earlier
> than that? Does it after-ripen at all? Should I be stripping inflorescences
> in the field or taking whole ones? I was guessing Bend would want them
> stripped, but does that affect ripening?
>
> Thanks for any information you have!
>
>
> Sarah De Groot, Ph.D
> Field Botanist, Seeds of Success Coordinator (CA930A), GIS Technician,
> and Research Associate
> Plant Conservation Department
> California Botanic Garden/Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden (RSA-POM
> herbarium)
> Claremont, California, USA
> *www.calbg.org <http://www.rsabg.org>*
> sdegroot[AT]rsabg.org or sdegroot[AT]calbg.org
> ***Please pardon delayed replies; I might be in the field***
>
>
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