Yuk. Makes me want to blow chunks and it looks like somebody already did. Gag me.

Most likely bacterial biofilm. Which is not an uncommon occurrence on stagnant water with a heavy proportion of OM included.

Jay, it is unusual to find a serious gardener becoming queasy when exposed to these somewhat more bizarre phenomenon, especially those that are involved in decomposition :-) Many can look somewhat gross. I typically find the aromas often associated with these organisms and/or processes far more objectionable than the appearance!

This could be one of the slime molds, possibly Fuligo septica a.k.a dog vomit (quite appropriate). If so, it should form yellow spores later in development.

Fungal or paraphyletic mold organisms are far less likely to grow on the surface of water than are bacterial organisms.

can i ask .... why you have bins of persimmons sitting around???

good one jay ... a sense of humor .......

looks like someone spilled some rice pudding in the bin ...

ken

^ Lol, they were too squished to eat when I collected them...so I just saved them to extract the seeds. Keeping them in bins full of water keeps them soft and the flies out...until I have time to separate all the seeds out.

Rather difficult to access oxygen inside a fruit, I'd imagine...?

And I'm wondering if it might be an algae?

I wasn't really queasy. It was a joke. I figured it was ok to make a joke since everyone else thought it was ok to name something that wasn't a plant. Same difference.

Not sure if submersion in water suffocates seeds when they are dormant. The extra hydration might even swell them up and speed germination? I don't know yet...?

But I did just notice something interesting. The seeds are naturally properly oriented inside each fruit with the points where the root tips bud out on the bottom. So, if a fruit falls down, the seeds will already be pointing root-down. This gives them the best chance of actually taking root in the ground...

Anyhow, the white slime interests me because it could potentially be an organic bioplastic? But I have to see what happens when it dries and then also somehow identify it...

OK, so it's official. After about 2 months of imbibing while still in the fruits completely submerged in water...I found 6 seeds fully sprouting their roots today.

I think all the water pressure slowly swelling and building up inside the shells eventually busts them open. I'm not sure if any air is needed during this process, although perhaps there were some air pockets in the fruit?

Interestingly, there is also a theory that seeds germinate best when buried still inside their fruits...

"After years of trial and error, the best way I have found is direct planting of the apple core in an outdoor bed. I have direct planted seeds by themselves, which still works, but seedlings are not as vigorous. Have also tried babying them indoors as the article states, but they are not as cold hardened. Burying them naturally in pieces of the core, in the fall and letting the late winter/early spring cold thaws naturally cold stratify has worked the best. I have dozens of trees now. Going to let some go wild and try grafting the others. Nature is the best method."

With my very impromptu experiment here...I wonder if there might be something to that?