Inside a Baldcypress Seed?

[Redonthehead]

Anyone know what the inside of a baldcypress seed should look like?  I have gathered some from a local tree, but upon cutting several dozen of the fluted seed open the cavity is mostly hollow except for a off-white colored "thread".  Should the cavity of a good seed be filled with a kernel? 

[Riles]

Your seeds are sprouting.

From "Seeds of Woody Plants in the United States," you should find 18 to 30 seeds per cone. It's tough to separate the seed from the cone fragments, so they're generally planted together. Baldcypress has an internal dormancy, so you either just picked them up or you stored them correctly. Hurry up and get them in the ground, you don't want those roots to dry out.

[Redonthehead]

Really?  Maybe I need to clarify - the seeds in the photo have been cut in half - that white "thread" is all that appears to be inside. Like perhaps a ill-formed embryo, I was assuming they are faulty.

[Riles]

From the same book: ""The cones are 1/2 to 1 1/4 inches in diameter and consist of a few four-sided scales that break away irregularly after maturity. Each scale bears two irregularly shaped seeds that have thick, horny, warty coats and projecting flanges."

You're at the northern extant of the range, and the book also says few seeds mature there. You may have some bad starts, I'll defer to the folks with a little more experience.