The Tropical Fruit Forum

I know many have tried growing Myrica ruba from seed before, mostly with unsatisfactory results, but I am curious about how others have approached these seeds.  I have ordered a number of seeds from various suppliers, and have already noticed clear differences in quality. 
The first two to arrive are the two US sellers I ordered from - SerendipitySeeds.com (also on ebay as JonValleyStudios, at $5.99 for 5 seeds) and ebay seller joynature ($5.59 for five seeds).  The Serendipity Seeds were reported by the seller to be this year's seeds, and from the looks of it, this is correct; the joynature seeds are small and the endocarps appeared shriveled by comparison - it almost looks as though they might have been oven-dried.  The attached picture shows Serendipity Seeds center left and joynature seeds center right, including one full seed of each type, flanked by the endocarps.  The endocarps were removed using a pair of vice grip pliers - setting the gap to just shorter than the length of the seed, closing, and then gradually adjusting smaller until the endocarp broke.  Be sure to hold the pliers in a container  when doing this, because the endocarps can shatter with surprising force, especially with fresh seed.  I used a large tupperware, inverted over my hand as I closed the pliers, and worked in the bathtub where the seeds and pieces of the shell were easy to spot and clean up.
Unfortunately, I nicked one of the seeds in the process - a plain old vice might allow you to use smaller incremental force in a more controlled manner, but I didn't have one readily available.  The seeds have been placed in moist sphagnum moss in sealed bags to sit on top of the refrigerator for a period of warm stratification.