In Hydnophytum, unripe fruit is visible on the stem, but in Myrmecodia, the fruit does not protrude from the alveolus until it is ripe. Depending on the species, each fruit contains between one and seven seeds. In a pinch, the seed can be sprinkled around the base of the mother plant. Do not bury the seed. Fresh seed germinates within a week, and the initial swelling of the tuber is visible almost immediately.
Seedlings grow rapidly under fluorescent lights if kept constantly moist.
For shipping seed, it seems best to send intact fruit rather than dry seed which may fail to germinate. Until that time, the commonly available Hydnophytum and Myrmecodia tuberosa varieties will reward growers with a variety of shapes that can be elegant, unusual, and sometimes breathtaking in their ugliness. I thank Tim Devine for generosity with seeds and seedlings, Wilson H.P. Chua for photographs of Myrmecodia in habitat, and Barry Sullender for interesting discussion and helpful pointers to the literature. Huxley, C.R., and Jebb, M.H.P. 1991. Jolivet, P. 1996.