A water drop-shaped slingshot in plants: geometry and mechanics in the explosive seed dispersal of Orixa japonica (Rutaceae).

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

In angiosperms, many species disperse their seeds autonomously by rapid movement of the pericarp. The fruits of these species often have long rod- or long plate-shaped pericarps, which are suitable for ejecting seeds during fruit dehiscence by bending or coiling. However, here we show that fruit with a completely different shape can also rely on pericarp movement to disperse seeds explosively, as in Orixa japonica.

Methods

Fruit morphology was observed by hard tissue sectioning, scanning electron microscopy and micro-computed tomography, and the seed dispersal process was analysed using a high-speed camera. Comparisons were made of the geometric characteristics of pericarps before and after fruit dehiscence, and the mechanical process of pericarp movement

SUBMITTER: Huang LJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8103806 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature