Traits of Fruits
Question One
Most plants produce fruits which contain seeds. Usually, fruits are meant to help in seed dispersion. Different plants have different adaptations to help them in their seed dispersion. These plants could have dry fruits, sweet fruits, bitter or sweet fruits, thorny fruits or those with hard shells. Plants with sweet fruits are adapted to various help in seed dispersion. Most of the sweet fruits are edible by either human beings or animals. The seeds of these plants are usually inside the fruits and are not harmful to the dispersers. The adaptation is that when animals feed on the fruits, they move around with the fruits and drop the seeds at other places away from the parent tree. This is the process of seed dispersion. At times the animals or birds swallow the seeds then drop it elsewhere. The sweet fruits are meant to attract the animals. Sour fruits are meant for defense of the seeds. At times the fruits are poisonous; this is to protect animals from consuming the seeds and destroying seeds. Fruits with no specific taste are those that are meant to benefit the seeds. These kinds of plants are not adapting to external factors. The fruits could be aimed to provide nutrients to the seeds.
Question Two
Ripening of fruits usually helps in seed dispersion. Fruits help in protecting the seeds to grow to maturity. Raw fruits are usually bitter hence external agents of dispersion will not interfere with the seed development. Ripening of the fruit is a show that the seeds are mature and helps by attracting agents of dispersion to disperse the seeds. Ripe fruits also have scents and colors that attract the agents of dispersal. Ripe fruits are sweet hence the different agents of dispersion will easily feed on the fruits and disperse the seeds.
Question Three
Human beings are agents of dispersion. However, people interfere with the dispersion process in various ways. First, human beings sometimes consume raw fruits. This is when the seeds are not mature and ready for dispersion. Human beings also affect dispersion by consuming the mature seeds then crashing them. The seeds are not meant to be interfered with. Some seeds are not protected by hard coverings; they are easy to crash hence they get destroyed easily. Human beings also cook fruits. Fruits that are exposed to a lot of heat and other unnatural conditions will spoil the seeds inside. Such seeds do not germinate when they are required to. Consumption of seeds and grains leads to most of them being digested hence; there will be no seeds to germinate. This puts the existence of some plants at risk because the continuity of existence is not assured through the destructive activities on seeds.
Question Four
Some fruits use the nutrients in the fruits for their own development. The starch and fructose in fruits is not meant to attract dispersion agents like birds and animals. Very few known plants’ seeds use the nutrients in the fruits. Seeds usually have their own food storage mechanisms hence; will not use the fruits’ nutrients. The seeds nutrients are meant to provide nutrients to the seed when it germinates. The fruit rotes then become manure for the seedling.
References
Abbott, J. F. (2007). The elementary principles of general biology. London: The Macmillan company.
Dennis, A. J. (2007). Seed dispersal: theory and its application in a changing world (illustrated ed.). California: CABI.
Enos, A. R., & Sheffield, E. (2007). Plant life (illustrated ed.). London: John Wiley & Sons.
