SEED DISPERSAL
- After fertilization ovary develops as fruit.
- Ovules develop into seeds.
- When seeds germinate they give birth to new plants.
- To avoid competition with the mother plant for air, water and minerals plants disperse their seeds to different distances. This process is called seed dispersal.
- The seeds of caltropis that have light and hairy structure at one end disperse through air.
- *Orchid seeds are minute with inflated covering.
- Cotton seeds have hairy structures.
- The seeds adapted to float on water are usually light. The outer covering of the seed has empty spaces filled with air and some are fibrous with air spaces that enclose the whole seed or fruit. Ex: Coconut.
- Seeds that are heavy usually fall to bottom of water sources and get carried by the flow of water Ex: Seeds of lotus.
- Seeds are dispersed by animals in many ways. In case of fleshy fruits, the fruit is eaten by animals while some dry fruits, with specialized structures like hooks, thorns, hairy parts, get stuck to the bodies of animals and get carried to distant places.
- Birds like Bulbuls, Mynahs, Crows eat some fruits. (Ex: Neem fruit). The outer fleshy part gets digested in the food canal and the seed coats of them become tender. They are then dispersed to other places as bird droppings.