I see that in roma tomatoes sometimes, creeps me out.

I have heard of it, but never seen in person. When I first caught a glimpse I thought it was some sort of larvae.

Orange seeds are sometimes seen to be already sprouting when the orange is cut, but haven't seen them making it to the outside of the orange. Yes, pretty creepy looking, but shows how eager some seeds are to grow plus the green probably provides some extra vitamins! Sprouts are very nutritious.

Of course, I had to look up the word viviparous ... LOL

Did anyone else, or am I the only 'dumb' one ;-)

NOT the only one, Roselee.................LOL>

Not by a long shot Roselee!

I thought the gel around the seed contained an inhibitor that prevented the seeds from germinating... makes me wonder what happened to the whole system.

99.99% it does work that way. that is why it is considered a mutant. In nature, when this happens, this is seed suicide. As the plant have germinated too late in the season and the cold weather kills the seedlings.

You see this a lot more in store bought tomatoes, the best explanation I have seen is that the store produce is stored in cold temperatures in a longer than normal period of time. Mimicking autumn and winter. That causes the seeds and gel sack to be tricked into sprouting out - they think it is time to GROW!