Peony seeds: The lifespan of peony seeds is very short, generally no more than half a year. Usually, peony seeds harvested in summer should be stored at room temperature with fluvi-aquic soil, and then sowed in autumn (mid-autumn). Generally, the outer skin of new seeds is fresher, with more water, and the inner kernels are whitish and full of water. The outer skin of old seeds is relatively dry, and the outer skin is sunken when pinched by hand. Peel off the outer skin and you can see that the section of the inner kernel is yellow or yellowish white. Some soak the old seeds in water, dry them and mix them with new seeds, but the cross-section of the inner kernels of the old seeds soaked in water is not pure white.
Isatidis seeds: Isatidis seeds have a lifespan of two years. After two years, the seeds will not germinate. Even if a small part of them germinate, they will die after a while. It is commonly known as "no standing seedlings". Therefore, new seeds should be purchased whenever possible. Generally, the newly produced Radix isatidis seeds (also known as Daqing seeds) have a blue-black appearance, good gloss, shiny, and a strong fragrance. When the outer skin is peeled off by hand, the inner kernel is greener in color. The appearance of old seeds is gray-black, has lost luster, black hair, very light fragrance, and some have a damp smell, peel off the outer skin, the color of the inner kernel is yellow-white or red.
Scutellaria baicalensis seeds: Generally, scutellaria baicalensis seeds are more difficult to distinguish new and old than the above varieties. If the new seeds are stored for a long time, the color of the seeds will become lighter, and if the storage time is short, the color of the seeds will be dark black, but some old seeds are used as new seeds for dyeing, so it is not enough just to see it, you need to rub it with your hands , and then see if the palm of the hand is black, which proves to be Chen seeds. In addition, you can put the Scutellaria baicalensis seed sample in a water cup and soak it in warm water for one day, then take out the soaked seeds, twist the outer skin with your fingers, and check whether the inner kernels are whitish and whether there are germs. Those with yellow kernels are old seeds.
Atractylodes macrocephala seeds: Generally, new Atractylodes macrocephala seeds are shiny, with many hairs and are not easy to fall off, while old seeds have less hairs, are easy to fall off, and are dull; split the seeds, the red ones on the broken surface are old seeds, and the white ones are new seeds .
Shoot-dried seeds: It can be seen from the appearance that the seeds are new, the oil of the new seeds is black and shiny, and the outer skin of the old seeds is wrinkled and dull.
Under normal circumstances, most of the medicinal seeds are best freshly produced. The new seeds are shiny, rich in nutrients, and have strong germination ability. When buying, you should look at the luster, look at the cross-section, and smell the smell. If necessary, soak it in water to identify the newness and ensure the quality of the seeds, so as to avoid unnecessary losses due to the quality of the seeds.
