Seed vs Chaff - Coneflowers & Grasses

I just took a walk around the snowy/frozen yard looking for any seed pods that may still be viable. There are a couple that I am having a hard time telling if it's seed or chaff. For Purple coneflower, what does the seed look like? There are lots of seed heads left, but I suspect the seed has fallen out. Same with my ornamental grass. Any pointers on this would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Lulabelle1. Chances are you are right about the Purple coneflower seed having all fallen out by now. Here is a link to a site that can help you to identify seeds, seedlings, seed pods, and how to identify seeds versus chaff:

http://www.theseedsite.co.uk/seedsize12.html

The seed picture for Echinacea purpurea is in the second row of pictures, second from the left. They sit down inside of the seed head between the sharp pointy things that used to be the cone of the coneflower :-) The easiest way to tell if any are left is to pick one and tap it on a plain white sheet of paper. If any seeds are left they should fall out onto the paper for you, and they should look like the picture in the link above.

If you look around on that web site you can probably find similar information for your ornamental grasses too.

I hope this is helpful to you.

--Ginny

Pictures of seeds are sometimes listed with the description of the plant in plantfiles. That's where I found Echinacea seeds under cultivar 'White Swan'. However, Ginny's link is the best site IMO without have to hunt and peck.

Thanks so much for the response. The linked site is great. And, I didn't think of looking for seeds in the plant files section. THANKS again.

You are very welcome :-)