Dispersal of fruit and Seeds

It takes place by the following methods :

1. Dispersal by water or Hydrochory

Fruit and seeds showing dispersal by water have floating devices. e.g., spongy thalamus in lotus, spongy and fibrous outer walls in coconut (Cocos)

2. Dispersal by wind or Anemochory :

For wind dispersal, fruits and seeds have following charactrstics (basic adaptations) :

• Light, minute and powdery seeds : e.g., Orchids (smallest seeds), Crasses.
• Wings : Seeds of Moringa, Cinchona and  Pinus are winged.
• Parachute mechanism : Appendages of some fruits and seeds act like a parachute.

• Pappus :  In members of Asteraceae sepals become hair like and known as pappus which help in wind dispersal.e.g. Taraxacum.
• Hair : Hairs attached all around seeds e.g. Cotton, hairs in  tufts.
• Persistant Style : Some plants have persistant hairy style e.g. Clematis.
• Balloon like appendages : Physalis, colutea, Cardiospermum, have balloon like structure for dispersal.

• Cancer Mechanism :  In this mechanism,seeds come out through the pores as the capsule is shaken by in the air. e.g., Xanthuim (Cocklebur).
• Rolling Machanism : Some plants get uprooted due to wind and rolled to distant places with wind e.g. Amaranthus, Carthamus.

3. Dispersal by animals or Zoochory

• Hooked fruits : Fruits have hard hair and spines or hooks and are carried away by grazing animals like cows, goats, e.g. Xanthium (Coklebur).
• Sticky fruits and seeds :  Fruits and seeds have sticky glands, so carried by birds. e.g., Viscum.
• Edible fruits : Carried away by man and animals e.g., Peach, Plum, Mango, Ficus.
• Dispersal by ants (Myrmechory) : Seeds or certain plants e.g., Trillium and Anemone have oily covering and carried away by ants.