It's autumn. The seed begins to travel.

Self-made "transmitter"

Some plants, which don't need cars or airplanes at all, have come up with a particularly interesting way to travel: when the seeds are ripe, throw them into the air. For example, spray melon, impatiens, violets and so on.

Spray melon

Spray melon, known as the most powerful fruit, the "iron cannon melon" of the plant world. Spray melon is called spray melon because its fruit can spray seeds when it is ripe.

Instead of being buried in a soft pulp like our usual melons, the seeds are soaked in a sticky pulp, which bulges the peel. When the melon is ripe, the stalk will naturally detach from the melon, and a small hole appears in the melon. The tight peel sprays the slurry and the seed from the hole to a few meters away, and the seed spreads out in this way. The breath of melon spraying is so fierce that it can spray seeds and mucus as far as 40 cents and 50 feet. Because it is as strong as a cannon, people call it "iron cannon melon".

Impatiens

The seeds of impatiens like to lie in fluffy capsules. During the development of the capsule, the development rate of the medial and lateral cells of the pericarp is not consistent, so there is a strong tension in the pericarp. When the fruit is ripe, the slight movement of the grass will cause the pericarp to crack from the seam, the tension is instantly released so that the peel lobes roll inward, and the seeds are ejected with the help of force. At this point, all the seeds will naturally fly out along the orbit.

Therefore, impatiens is also called "Don't touch me". The Latin name of Impatiens is derived from this feature, but Impatiens is impatient. Coincidentally, the seeds of impatiens are called "impatient" in traditional Chinese medicine.

Geranium

The seeds of the old stork's grass lie on a small shelf like a spoon. These "small spoons" function like projectors, throwing mature seeds in all directions.

Violet

Violet has a cool "way to travel". As its seeds mature, the pods gradually contract, exposing the seeds to the surface of the pods. At this time, the tension of the pod increases, and the seeds will be fired out like bullets.

Alternaria alternata

Trichoderma is a general term for a genus of fungi, which, contrary to its fresh name, likes to grow on animal faeces. Trichoderma has a little-known "superpower", that is, it can eject its own sporangia at an acceleration of more than 20,000 G.

The end of the sporangium is enlarged, filled with a large vacuole, and the swelling pressure formed by this large vacuole is the power source of ejection. After feeling the light, the sporangia of Alternaria alternata will eject toward the light, and the sporangium can fly at an altitude of 1 Mel 2 meters. Although it looks like a short distance, it is a very long distance compared to the size of the fungus itself.

Sorrel grass

Milkweed is a very common wild weed with small yellow or safflower flowers and a five-angled capsule after flowering. When ripe, the fruit is dehiscent along the loculum back, the shell curls and the seeds pop out.

two

Soar in the air with a parachute

Birds can glide for a long distance by spreading their wings and riding the wind. We found that many plants can do the same when they breed seeds, traveling in the air like carrying parachutes and landing all over the world. For example, dandelion, maple, willow and so on.

Dandelion

Dandelion seeds have evolved a special structure, with fluffy hair. Once the seed is ripe, the hair will expand, like a parachute, fluttering in the wind, the seed will be spread into the distance, and a walk-and-go journey will begin.

Maple tree

Maple trees, which can produce winged fruit, fly farther by the wind. Maple fruit in a group of two, each has a "wing" developed from the pericarp extension, so that the combination of two fruits has a pair of "wings". What is more wonderful is that the angle of the wings is also very exquisite. When the maple fruit falls, it rotates the fruit itself, greatly prolongs the time in the air, and allows the wind to carry the fruit to more distant places.

Tripterygium sinense

Also form this kind of "helicopter"-like fruit, as well as star rattan. Its six "wings" can also make the fruit rotate, which is conducive to spread over a longer distance.

Yu Meiren

There are many small cuts in the capsule of Yu Mei. When the wind blows, Yu Mei's stem bends and her seeds shake out of her shell. In this way, the seeds of Yu Mei can be scattered evenly around.

Willow

All the willows belong to the family Salicaceae and have caterpillar-like inflorescences (soft inflorescences). This inflorescence is male and female, which falls off when it is ripe, the fruit in the female inflorescence splits into two petals, and the seeds with white hairs float out in the wind. This is the result of natural evolution, which is conducive to the spread of seeds and reproduction.

Acer

The seed of a maple tree has wings, like a winged bird that can take advantage of the wind to carry its seeds into the distance.

In nature, many plants try their best to reproduce their offspring in order to survive and develop. In the course of hundreds of millions of years of evolution, each plant has a special ability to make its seeds "travel", which allows seeds to spread widely and grow endlessly. This magical phenomenon is amazing!

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