When fully ripe clean the fruit from the seeds. I usually do this under running water. You might additionally want to wear gloves as the fruit is supposed to be irritating. Plant them right away so they don't go into dormancy. If they dry out they will need to be stratified. Mark them well as JitP seedlings have only one leaf and look nothing like their parents.

I get the joke, and think your imagination is uproarious. Very funny; thanks.
Marie

Too funny! Although I think by admitting to getting the joke we are dating ourselves, lol!

Deb, sounds like a lot of work to this lazy gardener. Can we just shake the seed head around at some point, let the seeds drop, and hope for good natural germination?

Dee

Thanks cloud 9. I just squeezed hellebore seeds out of their pods and was cautioned to wear gloves for that too. Thanks for the warning about jack-in-the-pulpit seeds. And I found a picture of a one-leaf seedling. I see what you mean about them looking nothing like the parent plant. I'll mark them well.

Hi Marie and Dee. After I posted I wondered if anyone would remember the 'old rag tied around the head image'. Glad I'm not the only one!

even back in my day no one wrapped their heads for toothache. Rather than saying we date ourselves, I'd say we're literate.

I thought that was what the joke was...lol. It is a very cute visual. Which reminded me to take a look at my Jack in the Pulpit. I have one of those variegated Japanese Jack in the Pulpits that I bought about 4 years ago. It had one stem to it until this spring, when I discovered a baby next to it. I just checked and it is developing the same berries, but they aren't as far along as yours. I'm wondering if I will get plants from this and if I should collect and germinate them? Would they come true from seed, would anyone know?

Just a quick reminder....Do not attempt to taste the seeds of Jack in the Pulpit as they exude a sharp, burning flavor which causes the mouth and lips to swell and hurt beyond description. Best to deadhead the spent blossoms where there are young children who might be tempted by the red berries.

It took me awhile to find this so I thought I'd share the link.

Here is a link that might be useful:

"...I'd say we're literate..."

If you call watching old Bugs Bunny cartoons being literate, lol!

:)
Dee

The image that the seed pod brought to mind was something out of an old comic strip like Popeye or a cartoon like Bugs Bunny. But I don't mind being thought of as literate. Grin.

prairiemoon2, PLANT 'EM!!! I don't know if they will come true from seed, but if I had a Japanese variegated jack, and a seed pod, I definitely give it a try!

And thanks, nandina, for the warning, and diggingthedirt for the photo...

Okay, I'll wait for them to get ripe first, red berries, right? Mine are green right now too. Wouldn't that be fun to get baby ones? Even if they didn't come true to seed, it would be interesting to see what I would get.

Thanks for the link to the photo, DTD.