|
Plants
reproduce in a very different
way than animals, they produce new plants by making
seeds. Seeds usually move away from
the parent plant in some way and
grow in new places sometimes a long way from the
parents.
Fruit disseminate together at the
time it or its seed(s) are dispersed
from the plant, or just prior to
germination on the plant.
The Dissemination is
important because if the seeds are not dispersed, many
germinating
seedlings will
grow very close to the parent plant.
This results in competition between every one of the seedlings as well
as with the parent plant. The competition is for
light,
space, water and
nutrients. All of these are
important for plants to be able to grow.
The mechanism by which this is done is called dispersal.
There
are six common means of dispersal:
• Anemochory: Dispersal by
wind.
• Autochory: Dispersal by physical expulsion, often explosively.
• Endozoochory: Dispersal through animal ingestion and excretion.
• Epizoochory: Dispersal by attachment to fur or feathers.
• Hydrochory: Dispersal by water.
• Myrmecochory: Dispersal by ants.
|