When seeds are completely ripe, they'll come loose from their mooring with just a slight tug on the fluff. If they don't, they're not quite ripe. A typical aster seed is illustrated at right. This photo of I. glandulifera shows the green seedpods and one that's already released its seeds. This family is insect-pollinated, primarily by bees.
Seeds are hard nutlets, one to four per open-faced pod, and easily dislodged when ripe.
Unfortunately, because many plants in this family have leaves and stems with prickly hairs, the seeds can be painful to harvest. Most borage family seeds can be stored up to six years and still remain viable. Both grow in clusters along the length of the stalk, ripening progressively from bottom to top. Draw the ripening stalk very gently through your hand and most of the ripe seeds will come off easily. The nutlets come in sets of four, and when ripe are hard, dark brown and difficult to dislodge.