Q20 



ECOLOGY 



is so sudden and violent that the seeds are expelled at the same time. 

 At dehiscence the seeds of the violet and lupine are shot out several 

 centimeters (sometimes nearly a meter), while those of the witch-hazel 

 are expelled much more violently, and may be scattered for several 

 meters. In the lupine the seeds are expelled spirally by reason of the 

 torsion of the valves (fig. 1212). 



In Geranium the carpels separate from the central axis, coiling upwards and 

 discharging the seeds. In Hum crepitans the dehiscence is so violent that the 

 seeds are discharged with an explosive report. In Ecballium 

 the seeds are squirted out, together with some of the fruit 

 tissues, whence the name, squirting cucumber. In Impatiens 

 the fruit tissues are in a state of such delicate balance that 

 a mere touch causes violent dehis- 

 cence and dispersal, whence tlie sig- 

 nificance of the scientific name as 

 well as of the common name, i ouch- 

 me-not. In a western mis'letoe, 

 Arceuthobium occidenlale, th( ripe 

 fruits explode, ejecting the seeds for 

 several meters; as in other nistle- 

 toes, the seeds adhere read.ly to 

 leaves or bark. 



1213 1214] 



FIGS. 1212-1214. 1212, an opening pod or 

 legume of the lupine (Lupinus perennis), illus- 

 trating violent dehiscence through the torsion 

 of the valves (v) when desiccated; the seeds 

 (s) are mechanically expelled for some distance; 



In many cases there is no vio- 

 lent dehiscence, but the seeds lie 



1213, 1214, dehiscence of the capsules of the in such a position that a mechan- 



evening primrose (Oenothera biennis): 1213, a j cal i mpact causes scattering. 

 mature capsule in which the four valves (v) are 



beginning to split at the apex; 12 14, a later stage Most capsules (as m Oeno/Iiera, 



in which desiccation has caused the valves to figS. 1213, 1214, and Pediculdris) 



spread apart, exposing the seeds (5) in such a and m dg 



way that they may readily be shaken out. 



w ; th 



. 



valves open, and the wind may 

 shake out the seeds^ or animals may brush them out. In many mints, 

 if one presses down a calyx having mature nutlets, the latter shoot 

 out upon release. Of especial interest is Polygonum virginicnum, 

 whose achene is fastened to an elastic cushion of tissue in such a way 

 that, when pressed back, it bounds off upon release for a distance of 

 three or four meters. Obviously the dispersal of seeds by propulsion 

 is relatively ineffective, since at best the seeds are scattered but a few 

 meters from the parent plant, and commonly much less. 



Dispersal by wind. With seeds, as with spores, the most effective 

 of dispersal agents is the wind, especially from the standpoint of the 



