In article ,
"Ray Drouillard" wrote:

"Katra" wrote in message
...

Planting a whole, rotting avocado would probably work better. That
really is the whole point of a plant making fruit! Not for us humans
to
eat, but to either provide fertilizer for the new seed, or, to
encourage
animals to eat the fruit, thus spreading the progeny when the animal
drops the non-digestible seed out on the ground in a pile of animal
fertilizer. ;-)

Actually, plants make edible fruit for the purpose of seed
dissemination.

I think I kinda sorta said that, but you put it much better. G
"spreading the progeny" is the way I had meant that.

Animals pick up the fruit and carry them away from the
original tree. In some cases, the seeds are swallowed and later
deposited right along with a little pile of fertilizer. This happens
mostly with birds, but there are some mammals that also disseminate
seeds in their poop.

Yah. Ever seen racoon poop full of wild persimmon seeds?


In the case of something that has a pit, the animal in question
generally drags the fruit away to eat elsewhere, but doesn't swallow the
pit.

In the case of nuts, the tree grossly overproduces. The nuts that the
squirrel buries but never digs up is the nut that grows.

Gods. I know. I have been digging up and cutting up pecan trees all over
the yard due to squirrels and a tree down the street!


You may notice that fruit tends to be sour or bitter before the seeds
are mature. They are generally inconspicuous, too. It's only after the
seeds are ready that the fruit ripens and changes color to attract the
animals.



Ray Drouillard

Neat post. :-)
Well stated.

K.




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