BIOL 1902 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Hitchhiking, Cardiac Glycoside, Seed Dispersal
28 Jan 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Until ready for dispersal, plants protect the seeds. Some use hard structures, like cones or acorns. Milkweed seeds are well protected by the pod of full cardiac glycosides. Once mature, the pods open and the seeds are off. Some seeds are sent by the wind. But there is no guarantee it is going to find the right spot. Each fireweed produces 70,000 100,000 seeds. Hooks and barbs catch on hair or feathers. Use velcro-like structures to hook onto things to travel. Queen anne"s lace also use animal power for seed dispersal; but not every day. Other sun-loving plants exploits animals in a very different way. The plants bribe animals with sweet food to eat, and the seeds travel inside the animal. The animals have been exploited as seed dispersers. Recall that waxwings also eat fruit, so they are also seed dispersers. Seed dispersal also takes place in very different habitats.
