Japanese Iris Seed Pods ?

A co-worker gave my DH a JI for our water garden. It bloomed with 5 lovely blooms. After the spent blooms, I noticed there are what appears to be seed pods.

We've never had a JI before, so know very little about their propogation.

Do people use these to propogate with ? Are they of any use, or should I just toss them ?

I purchased seeds last fall and now have about 10 plants. The process I used was to plant them in a salad container with a clear lid . They were in a soiless seed mixture about three inches deep. about 3 months under lights followed by three months in refrigerator then back under lights. Germination was sporadic. The literature states they can take up to 4 y ears to germinate. My babies are now out in the gaden and are thriving so far ( fingers crossed).