Figure 1.

Overview of Xerophyta humilis seed development.

Left and right: Images showing X. humilis flowers, seed pods and seeds at different days after fertilisation (DAF).

Centre: X. humilis seed length as development progresses. Seeds show a rapid increase in size between DAF4 and DAF8, consistent with early maturation and seed filling. Seed length is stable during mid maturation (DAF8−DAF12) and drops slightly as seeds lose water during late maturation (DAF12+). For this study, seeds were sampled at DAF6 (early maturation), DAF11 (mid maturation) and DAF17 (late maturation/dry). A range of 34–161 seeds were measured from across three seed pods for each DAF; error bars are standard deviation.