Seed Dispersal Methods It is important to get

Seed Dispersal Methods • It is important to get seeds far away from the mother plant. • 1. Animal - stick to fur OR the animal eats the fruit or plant & then deposits the seeds later

• 2. Wind - light seeds float in air & are moved to new locations by wind • 3. Water - seeds float & then new plant grows where the seed is left after water goes down

• 4. Explosive - when seeds are ready to be released, the seed pod ‘explodes’ sending the seed far from the mother plant • 5. Gravity - the seeds simply fall to the ground when mature

Fruit • A fruit is the fertilized egg of a plant (seed) & the swollen ovary (flesh of the fruit) • There are many types: – Pome: core with seed surrounded by papery ovary walls (apples, pears) – Drupe: stony inner layer around the seed (cherry, peach)

• Berry: thin skinned, fleshy at maturity (tomatoes, grapes, bananas) • Pepo: berry with a thick, hard rind (watermelon, cucumbers)

• Hesperidium: berry with leathery rind (oranges, grapefruit) • Aggregate: formed from several pistils of a single flower (strawberry)

• Multiple: formed from several flowers (pineapples)

Tropisms • A tropism is a response in which a plant grows either toward or away from an environmental stimuli • Phototropism: plants grow towards a source of light

• Thigmotropism: plants move in response to touch • Gravitropism: a root will grow towards the earth even when grown upside down

• Chemotropism: plants growing towards a chemical (fertilizer) or away from it (herbicide)

Bonsai!!! We’re done!