When is the best time to pick the capsule of Gastrodia elata?

After pollination of Gastrodia elata flowers, the ovary gradually enlarged, and the capsule was light brown or pink, showing a long oval shape, with 6 vertical edges. There are 10,000 to 50,000 seeds in each capsule, up to 80,000 seeds at most. The seeds are small. In the form of powder, it is difficult to recognize its size and shape with the naked eye. Under the microscope, the mature seeds are fusiform, 0.6 mm in length and 0.14 mm in width. The embryo is 170 to 180 microns long. The seed coat is white and translucent, like a wing, composed of parenchyma cells, without endosperm, the embryo is light brown or dark brown, and those without black and brown are immature seeds, which are called blighted seeds. The transverse and longitudinal sections of mature Gastrodia elata seeds were oval and round under microscope.

Gastrodia elata takes 21-30 days from stem to flowering and 27-35 days from flowering to fruit maturity. The germination rate of seeds after natural dehiscence of the capsule decreases significantly if it is placed for too long, so do not wait for the natural dehiscence of the capsule to collect seeds. When the capsule pericarp surface is shiny, the longitudinal groove depression is not obvious, and the finger pinching is slightly soft, it is more suitable to collect seeds. At this time, the pericarp is about to crack without cracking. After peeling off the pericarp, most of the seeds have been scattered, easy to shake out, and the seeds are cheese-colored. The germination rate of such seeds is more than 60% higher than that of naturally cracked seeds. Therefore, when a crack in the lower edge of the capsule is found, it can be cut off and shake out the seed in time for sowing. It is best to shake the seed into the liquid strain of Armillaria mellea and then sow it.