This Week's Experiment - #282 Seed Search

an area with some weeds
some long pants
some cherries, plums, apples or other fruit with hard seeds

First, look carefully at the weeds. Make sure that they don't contain any wasps, bees, snakes, lions or, tigers or bears, oh my. Once you are sure you will not disturb the local wildlife, walk through the weeds. Then carefully examine the legs of your pants. Depending on the time of year and the kinds of weeds in your area, there is a very good chance that you will find some burrs stuck to the cloth. Look at them carefully.

The burrs that you found are actually seeds, intended to grow new plants. One problem that plants face is that they can't walk around. If a cherry tree could go for a walk, then it could drop its seeds here and there along the way, spreading cherry trees across the country. Since the tree is rooted in one spot, it needs another way to spread its seeds. Try eating a cherry. Eat it carefully, because in the center you will find a large, hard pit. That pit is actually a cherry seed. When you finished eating the cherry, what did you do with the pit? You threw it away, right? Animals do the same thing. A bird could carry the cherry to a nearby fence. After eating the cherry, it drops the pit, planting a new cherry tree. If the bird swallows the pit, it will eventually pass on through the bird and still have a chance to grow into a tree. Some plants have seeds that can only grow when they have passed through a bird.

Burrs are another way that plants can spread their seeds. Instead of offering a yummy treat as the bribe for carrying a seed, plants with burrs bother you into planting their seeds. Here in St Augustine, we have a plant called a sandspur. The plant looks like an ordinary clump of grass, but it produces clusters of VERY sharp, thorny seeds. These things really hurt! While walking on the path to the beach, you can see tourists step on one. They yelp, hop on one foot, and say all sorts of naughty things as they pull the thorny seed out of their foot. Then they do something that they really should not. They throw the seed on the ground! They have just planted another sandspur plant!

Some burrs just stick to you instead of hurting. If you are lucky enough to have some of these, look at them very closely. You may want to use a magnifying glass or microscope. Look carefully at the hook-like hairs. Do they remind you of anything? Next, look carefully at some Velcro. Wow, it looks the same. It should. Plant burrs gave George de Mestral the idea for Velcro.

There are many other ways that plants spread their seeds. Wind is a great way for plants to spread. The next time you blow the seeds from a dandelion, remember that you have just planted quite a few more weeds in your lawn. Plants like Jewelweed have seed pods that build up tension as they ripen. When the seed is ready, the slightest touch causes the seed pod to split apart, throwing seeds in all directions. Some seeds float in water, letting the current move them to new locations.

Of all the different ways, I think I like the cherries the best. In fact, I think I will go prepare some cherry seeds right now. Have a good week.

These experiments are from Robert Krampf - The Happy Scientist

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