110 



HOW DO SEED PLANTS SUCCEED IN LIFE? 



follicle (fol'i-k'l) of the milkweed, a fruit which splits along the 

 edge of one valve, the pod or legume of the pea and the bean, and 

 the capsule of Jimson weed and the evening primrose. The wild 

 geranium, a capsule with five chambers, splits along the edge of 

 each chamber, snaps back, and throws out the seed for some dis- 

 tance. Jewel weed and witchhazel fruits burst open in a somewhat 

 similar manner. 



Winged seeds. The seeds of the pine, held underneath the 

 scales of the cone, are prolonged into wings which aid in their 



dispersal. The seeds 

 of many of our trees 

 are thus scattered. 



Other methpds. 

 Sometimes whole 

 plants as the tumble- 

 weeds are carried by 

 the high winds of the 

 fall. Some seeds or 

 fruits (for example, 

 the coconut) may fall 

 into the water and in 

 a few days will be carried to a new place, the fibrous husk providing 

 a boat in which the seed is carried. The seeds of swamp plants 

 collect in the mud along the banks of ponds and streams, and birds 

 which come there to feed carry them away on their feet. The 

 great English naturalist, Charles Darwin, raised eighty-two plant's 

 from seeds thus carried by birds. It is probable that most of 

 the vegetation on the newly formed coral islands of the Pacific 

 Ocean may have come from seeds brought to them by birds and 

 by water. 



Practical Exercise 3. Name five fruits, other than those mentioned above, 

 that scatter their seeds through the opening of pods. Name five trees that 

 produce winged seeds. Why has the Russian thistle become a pest over such 

 a large area in a relatively short time ? 



Indehiscent fruits. Dry fruits which do not split open to 

 allow of the escape of their seeds are known as indehiscent fruits. 

 Such are nuts, one-seeded fruits usually with hard outer covering, 



freexi pecc 



capsule, 



How are these particular fruits fitted for scattering their seeds ? 



