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Endozoochory
In spermatophyte plants, seed dispersal is the movement, spread or transport of seeds away from the parent plant. Plants have limited mobility and rely upon a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their seeds, including both abiotic vectors, such as the wind, and living ( biotic) vectors such as birds. Seeds can be dispersed away from the parent plant individually or collectively, as well as dispersed in both space and time. The patterns of seed dispersal are determined in large part by the dispersal mechanism and this has important implications for the demographic and genetic structure of plant populations, as well as migration patterns and species interactions. There are five main modes of seed dispersal: gravity, wind, ballistic, water, and by animals. Some plants are serotinous and only disperse their seeds in response to an environmental stimulus. These modes are typically inferred based on adaptations, such as wings or fleshy fruit. However, this simplified view may ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diplochory
Diplochory, also known as “secondary dispersal”, “indirect dispersal” or "two-phase dispersal", is a seed dispersal mechanism in which a plant's seed is moved sequentially by more than one dispersal mechanism or vector. The significance of the multiple dispersal steps on the plant fitness and population dynamics depends on the type of dispersers involved. In many cases, secondary seed dispersal by (typically granivorous) invertebrates or rodents moves seeds over a relatively short distance and a large proportion of the seeds may be lost to seed predation within this step. Longer dispersal distances and potentially larger ecological consequences follow from sequential endochory by two different animals, i.e. diploendozoochory: a primary disperser that initially consumes the seed, and a secondary, carnivorous animal that kills and eats the primary consumer along with the seeds in the prey's digestive tract, and then transports the seed further in its own digestive tract. Mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barochore
In spermatophyte plants, seed dispersal is the movement, spread or transport of seeds away from the parent plant. Plants have limited mobility and rely upon a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their seeds, including both abiotic vectors, such as the wind, and living ( biotic) vectors such as birds. Seeds can be dispersed away from the parent plant individually or collectively, as well as dispersed in both space and time. The patterns of seed dispersal are determined in large part by the dispersal mechanism and this has important implications for the demographic and genetic structure of plant populations, as well as migration patterns and species interactions. There are five main modes of seed dispersal: gravity, wind, ballistic, water, and by animals. Some plants are serotinous and only disperse their seeds in response to an environmental stimulus. These modes are typically inferred based on adaptations, such as wings or fleshy fruit. However, this simplified view may ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dispersal Vector
A dispersal vector is an agent of biological dispersal that moves a dispersal unit, or organism, away from its birth population to another location or population in which the individual will reproduce. These dispersal units can range from pollen to seeds to fungi to entire organisms. There are two types of dispersal vector, those that are active and those that are passive. Active dispersal involves pollen, seeds and fungal spores that are capable of movement under their own energy. Passive dispersal involves those that rely on the kinetic energy of the environment to move. In plants, some dispersal units have tissue that assists with dispersal and are called Diaspore (botany), diaspores. Some types of dispersal are self-driven (autochory), such as using gravity (barochory), and does not rely on external agents. Other types of dispersal are due to external agents, which can be other organisms, such as animals (zoochory), or Abiotic component, non-living vectors, such as the wind (an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epilobium Hirsutum - Seed Head - Triptych
''Epilobium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Onagraceae, containing about 197 species. The genus has a worldwide distribution. It is most prevalent in the subarctic, temperate and subantarctic regions, whereas in the subtropics and tropics ''Epilobium'' species are restricted to the cool montane biomes, such as the New Guinea Highlands. The Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of the genus has varied between different botanists, but the modern trend is to include the previously recognised genera ''Boisduvalia'', ''Chamaenerion'' (previously ''Chamerion''), ''Pyrogennema'' and ''Zauschneria'' within ''Epilobium'' according to Peter H. Raven, who has extensively studied the willowherbs and merges the other Segregate (taxonomy), segregate genera into ''Epilobium''. Fringed willowherb (''Epilobium ciliatum'') is likely a cryptic species complex; apparently these plants also commonly Hybrid (biology), hybridize with their congeners. Most species are known by th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Awn (botany)
An awn is a hairy or bristle-like growth on a plant. On the seeds of grasses such as barley or rye, they form foxtails which assist seed dispersal by being barbed and so sticking to passing animals. Also, the awns may twist or curl as they are wetted and dry out and this action can make fallen seeds walk until they fall into a crevice into which they then burrow. Besides grasses, other families of plants which have awns include Asteraceae such as sunflowers and Geraniaceae such as geraniums. In the latter, the awns help disperse the seeds by developing a tension which then catapults the seeds when the seed head ripens and dries out. Description In grasses, awns typically extend from the lemmas of the florets. This often makes the hairy appearance of the grass synflorescence. Awns may be long (several centimeters) or short, straight or curved, single or multiple per floret. Some biological genera are named after their awns, such as the three-awns (''Aristida''). In s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euphorbia Heterophylla
''Euphorbia heterophylla'', also known under the common names of Mexican fireplant, painted euphorbia, Japanese poinsettia, paintedleaf, painted spurge and milkweed, is a plant belonging to the Euphorbiaceae or spurge family. Distribution ''Euphorbia heterophylla'' is native to tropical and subtropical America but is now widespread throughout the tropics. Many herbicides fail to control it and hence it has spread rapidly in many parts of the world. This plant has been introduced to South and Southeast Asia as an ornamental plant, having become a weed in India and Thailand, where it has invaded cotton fields and other agricultural terrain. Description Euphorbia heterophylla grows between 30 and 100 cm tall and has hollow stems that may be branched or simple with angular ribs. The leaves of the plant have variable shapes within and between populations. The lower leaves are alternate whereas the upper leaves are opposite and commonly have a whitish or bright red base. Within ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecballium
''Ecballium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cucurbitaceae containing a single species, ''Ecballium elaterium'', also called the squirting cucumber, as well as the noli me tangere and its English translation touch-me-not. Its unusual common name derives from the ripe fruit squirting a stream of mucilaginous liquid containing its seeds as a means of seed dispersal, an example of rapid plant movement. Distribution ''E. elaterium'' is native to Europe, northern Africa, and temperate areas of Asia, and is considered an invasive species. It is grown as an ornamental plant elsewhere, and in some places it has naturalized. Seed dispersal The tissue in the fruit of the ''Ecballium elaterium'' that surrounds the seeds is made of large, thin-walled cells facilitating the propulsive release of seeds by "squirting". Pressure to expel the seeds is created by the increased concentration of a glucoside called elaterinidin in the sap of the fruit tissue's cells, leading ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cardamine Hirsuta
''Cardamine hirsuta'', commonly called hairy bittercress or popping cress, is an annual or biennial species of plant in the family Brassicaceae, and is edible as a salad green. It is common in moist areas around the world. Description Depending on the climate ''C. hirsuta'' may complete two generations in a year, one in the spring and one in the fall; also depending on the climate, the seeds may germinate in the fall and the plants may remain green throughout the winter before flowering in the spring. It often grows a rosette (botany), rosette of leaves at the base of the stem, while there may be leaves on the upright stem, most of the leaves will be part of the basal rosette. The leaves in this rosette are pinnately divided into 8–15 leaflets which have short stems connecting them to the petiole. These basal leaves are often 3.5–15 cm long. The leaflets are round to ovate in shape and may have smooth or dentate edges. The leaflet at the tip of the leaf (terminal leafl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arceuthobium
The genus ''Arceuthobium'', commonly called dwarf mistletoes, is a genus of 42 species of parasitic plants that parasitize members of Pinaceae and Cupressaceae in North America, Central America, Asia, Europe, and Africa. Of the 42 species that have been recognized, 39 and 21 of these are endemic to North America and the United States, respectively. They all have very reduced shoots and leaves (mostly reduced to scales) with the bulk of the plant living under the host's bark. Recently the number of species within the genus has been reduced to 26 as a result of more detailed genetic analysis. Description They are plant sexuality, dioecious, individual plants being either male or female. The fruit is unusual in that it builds up hydrostatic pressure internally when ripe and shoots the single sticky seed up to speeds nearly , an example of rapid plant movement. The Arceuthobium americanum, lodgepole pine dwarf mistletoe,'' Arceuthobium americanum, has been found to explosively-disp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turgor Pressure
Turgor pressure is the force within the cell that pushes the plasma membrane against the cell wall. It is also called ''hydrostatic pressure'', and is defined as the pressure in a fluid measured at a certain point within itself when at equilibrium. Generally, turgor pressure is caused by the osmotic flow of water and occurs in plants, fungi, and bacteria. The phenomenon is also observed in protists that have cell walls. This system is not seen in animal cells, as the absence of a cell wall would cause the cell to lyse when under too much pressure. The pressure exerted by the osmotic flow of water is called turgidity. It is caused by the osmotic flow of water through a selectively permeable membrane. Movement of water through a semipermeable membrane from a volume with a low solute concentration to one with a higher solute concentration is called osmotic flow. In plants, this entails the water moving from the low concentration solute outside the cell into the cell's vacuole. Mec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dehiscence (botany)
Dehiscence is the splitting of a mature plant structure along a built-in line of weakness to release its contents. This is common among fruits, anthers and sporangia. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part. Structures that open in this way are said to be dehiscent. Structures that do not open in this way are called indehiscent, and rely on other mechanisms such as decay, digestion by herbivores, or predation to release the contents. A similar process to dehiscence occurs in some flower buds (e.g., '' Platycodon'', '' Fuchsia''), but this is rarely referred to as dehiscence unless circumscissile dehiscence is involved; anthesis is the usual term for the opening of flowers. Dehiscence may or may not involve the loss of a structure through the process of abscission. The lost structures are said to be caducous. Association with crop breeding Manipulation of dehiscence can improve crop yield since a trait that causes seed dispersal is a disadvantage for fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Passionfruit
''Passiflora edulis'', commonly known as passion fruit, is a vine species of passion flower native to the region of southern Brazil through Paraguay to northern Argentina. It is cultivated commercially in tropical and subtropical areas for its sweet, seedy fruit. The fruit is a pepo, a type of botanical berry, round to oval, either yellow or dark purple at maturity, with a soft to firm, juicy interior filled with numerous seeds. The fruit is both eaten and juiced, with the juice often added to other fruit juices to enhance aroma. Etymology The passion fruit is so called because it is one of the many species of passion flower, the English translation of the Latin genus name, ''Passiflora''. Around 1700, the name was given by missionaries in Brazil as an educational aid while trying to convert the indigenous inhabitants to Christianity; its name was ''flor das cinco chagas'' or "flower of the five wounds" to illustrate the crucifixion of Christ, with other plant components a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
