Well this is my first year growing morning glorys too. And here's my experience. I wait until the pod turns brown and when I squeeze it, the black seeds pop out. There are lots of seeds in each pod.

Hope this helps!

GG

I had a few like that also, something I'd never seen in the past. Same with my asclepias. I threw those seeds out; I'm assuming with all the rain we recently had, they started sprouting. I'm sure someone with more knowledge will answer...

I've grown morning glories for years.
After the pod is dry-brown
pinch the pod and the white/black seeds fall out.
on a paper plate chaff & seeds mixed
go outside and gently blow on the plate
this will dechaff your seeds then put in bag and your ready for trading.

I cant say Ive ever collected any with little tails...
I would take a guess that they are starting to sprout.
Once they start if they aren't planted right away, they aren't any gd.
If you leave the pods right on the vine, they will fall out themselves and reseed... way to many vines for the next year.

Here is a link that might be useful: Plant Traders

Thanks so much for the replies. I have cut the vines down and put them inside to dry because I did find a lot of seeds that were ok. Next year I'll keep a closer eye on them but this is my first year seed collecting so I am learning a lot of new things. I have seed from one end of my house to the other lol, but its a great learning experience and I'm sure I'll be doing a lot more of this in the future.

Another question:

So we had a frost here the other night, and the vines are shrivelling. There are still tons on not yet ripe seeds on them. Are those seeds a lost cause or will they still ripen?

--Carolyn