Oca: Seeds up close

Ten freshly minted oca (Oxalis tuberosa) seeds awaited me this morning, the results of cross OC13-S10x04-05, Hopin x Unknown Orange.  Although I’m sure this will soon lose its thrill, it was nearly as exciting as the first few seeds that I collected.  Ten seeds seems like a pretty respectable yield, although, according to my research, is right on the average for an (M x mS) cross.

They are now drying safely in a Petri dish with some desiccant packs.

Oca seeds are small – about the size of the tip of a #2 pencil

I took a moment to put some of the seeds under the microscope for a closer look:

Oca seed If you click on the pictures for a larger version, you can just see the pores in the seed coat.

Oca seed with what I assume is the integument of the ovule still attached.

Oca seed.  Slightly better detail on this one.

This is what oca pods look like within 24 hours of bursting. You can see the seeds showing through in a few places.

This is what an oca pod looks like within an hour of bursting. The pod often splits open and you can see the seeds inside.

Oca seeds and tubers are sometimes available in our seed shop.