I'm glad to see that you had good results. About half of mine branched. I daresay they look better then the unbranched seedlings which are kind of lanky looking. I rediscovered the seeds a couple months ago and planted them. Even with seeds that were over a year old I had close to 100% germination. Paul I have babies that I can send you soon. It's actually probably warm enough here to mail them now but I'm not sure about your zone. I didn't bother doing anything special with the seeds. I just covered them with a little soil and kept them moist. They germinated within a week.

Desirai, Since Huernias are in the Asclepiadaceae(Milkweed family) their seeds are contained inside a typical milkweed pod. The pods burst open and the seeds are wind distributed by fluffy "tails" (known scientifically as a pappus) attached to each seed. Since they are pollinated by flies, I suspect what you are seeing are unopened flowers. Here is a link that might be useful:

Something else.. I attended Michigan State University back in the Ice Age! Being a science major, I had occasion to take a botany class or two. There was a rather famous professor At MSU, William James Beal. He created the W. J. Beal Botanical Garden which is the oldest continuously operated botanical garden in the United States at MSU. Part of his research had to do with this very topic about seed viability. As the story goes, he buried numerous bottles, Beal's Bottles, on the grounds of the MSU campus (back then it was The Michigan Agricultural Collage). At predetermined times, a bottle would be dug up and the seeds planted to see how many would germinate. The experiment is still ongoing and will conclude in 2100. So Karyn, I guess it all depends on the seed. Here's wishing you 100%

I used the scotch tape metod, they releave more or less like a Dandylion, a tiny parachute the seed on the end about the size of lettuce seeds or smaller. I'ts fun to watch and wait. How long, well again it depends on how dry the air is where it is growing. Watering may also make a difference on how fast the fruit will open. this I don't know. I have very tiny rubber bands which I have alsod use to keep them closed. I have put the plant into a strainer, and then put it into a bag so when they start to open they will fall down into the strainer, which is in the bag or box. You will come up with something that will work for you. Norma