Woody Pear fruit

This seed pod has a hidden story. Its narrative is embedded in a capsule body. A geological deep time of stored memory, intelligence and an enduring will to survive. Woody Pear (Xylomelum pyriforme) Accession 1993.1.1579 This plant can take 20 years to reach flowering stage from seed, laying dormant until the right conditions. The wooden armour is a protection against fire as well as birds. The non-fleshy, hard fruit splits to release two flat winged seeds after a bushfire or after the seed case has dried sufficiently. Woody pears are rarely cultivated possibly due to lack of availability of seeds, which germinates readily but is prone to damping off. Loaned by the World Museum Liverpool from its Herbarium Collections. http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/wml/collections/botany/index.aspx