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As you know, together with the Technical University of Manabí, we are working on several investigations on the composition of the dry forest, the habitat of the Palo Santo tree, and its ability to store carbon, which helps reduce temperatures caused by the global warming
It is now time to investigate the seeds. In this article, we will try to explain in detail all our work and findings about the sacred wood that soothes your soul, Palo Santo. Hope you enjoy!
We started this research in winter, on February 16, 2022, we chose this season because Palo Santo is in the reproductive stage. We identified a Palo santo tree of approximately 15 years of life, which at sight can be seen that it is loaded with seeds. Thus we proceed to take our biodegradable covers to cover the identified branches. The covers have pores that will allow the Palo santo branches to breathe.
This step is very important since by protecting the seed we make sure that they are out of sight of the birds that feed on them or that they fall to the ground and are exposed to insects. Once the branches containing the Palo santo seeds are covered, all that remains is to wait for the end of April and thus proceed to collect them.
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After 70 days we collected the Palo Santo seeds, this time we observe that the tree has lost a large number of leaves. The reason for this event is the arrival of summer or the dry season. Palo Santo loses moisture through the leaves. As a preventive measure against dehydration, the dry forest species shed their leaves to facilitate the conservation of water during the summer. That is why the collection of the Palo Santo is during the summer.
If you want to know about the collection process of Palo Santo you can learn here.
We have seen that the seeds have detached from the branches and are stored inside the sheath that covers the branches.
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We proceeded to remove the covers and collect the seeds mixed with dry leaves in a container with great care. Therefore, we proceeded to clean and separate the seeds from the leaves. A curious fact is that some seeds showed signs of fungi, something that is not alarming since, in recent weeks, it has been raining, so this humidity causes the appearance of fungi that decompose the pulp of the seed.
We store the Palo Santo seeds in paper bags to absorb any signs of moisture present. Thus, they will be transported to the laboratory of the Technical University of Manabí, to begin carrying out the respective analyzes with the thesis students and discover the state of the seed or other specific characteristics.
Likewise, we collected some seeds from the ground, remember, that within the investigation a comparison will be made of how both germinate from the branch and those collected from the ground.
(As a curious fact, there is a hypothesis that the Palosanto seeds that birds eat, when passing through their digestive process, have a better germination process).
After collecting the seeds in Puerto López, we moved to Lodana – Santa Ana Canton, where the Faculty of Agronomy of the Technical University of Manabí is located, where studies on Palo Santo seeds are carried out. We have 3 types of seeds in our laboratory:
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What will be done is to place the seeds in a solution of tetrazolium chloride to be able to stain the embryo and characterize it, to know if the cells of the embryo are alive (the compound only stains the living cells), and locate it so as not to affect the embryo at the moment to apply a treatment. From this step, the following therapies are applied to the seeds:
The reason for applying these treatments to the seed is to differentiate the germination percentages and which is the right one for our seeds.
Let's see how we do!
Little by little, we are going to discover more about Palo santo, all the Palo santo seeds that we manage to germinate will be used in future reforestations. I hope you tell me your doubts and questions about this beautiful research.
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Palo Santo seeds
By: Anne On 03/31/2023Where can I get Palo Santo seeds, please.
Seed availability
By: Jonathan Reid On 01/20/2023Hi, great project! Any chance of buying a few seeds please? I live in dry sub-tropics, it seems like it should grow here, and it would be good to extend it's range as it seems to be somewhat threatened? It is only for my own use, I have a small arboretum I am developing.
Muchas gracias, un saludo, Jonathan.
Seed availability
By: Jonathan Reid On 01/20/2023Hi, great project! Any chance of buying a few seeds please? I live in dry sub-tropics, it seems like it should grow here, and it would be good to extend it's range as it seems to be somewhat threatened? It is only for my own use, I have a small arboretum I am developing.
Muchas gracias, un saludo, Jonathan.
Seed availability?
By: Jonathan Reid On 01/20/2023Hi, great project! Any chance of buying a few seeds please? I live in dry sub-tropics, it seems like it should grow here, and it would be good to extend it's range as it seems to be somewhat threatened? It is only for my own use, I have a small arboretum I am developing.
Muchas gracias, un saludo, Jonathan.