I was walking along a crowded road in the middle of the
city. Like many of our roads, this road too was lined with huge old trees. Right
there on the footpath, I found something that we were fascinated by as
children. Many nature enthusiasts fondly call it the ‘monkey biscuit’, since
monkeys nibble at it.
This is the seed of a plant called Angsana or Petrocarpus indicus. What makes it special
are the wing like papery structures that surround it, and make it ‘fly’. This
is one of the many types of seeds that are dispersed by wind. The wind carries
these seeds over large distances. If the seed lands on a surface that is
suitable for germination, it can grow into a new plant there.
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| Angsana seeds |
Plants of the genus Shorea
have structures similar to blades of a helicopter attached to their small
fruits. These plants disperse their entire fruits with the help of the wind.
The seeds, of course, are inside the fruit!
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| Shorea fruits |
The Dandelion seeds have feathery bristles around it which
help it to float in air like a parachute.
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| Dandelion seeds |
The structure of seeds of Alsomitra
macrocarpa inspired the structure of the first gliders.
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| Alsomitra macrocarpa seed |
Dispersal of seeds in this way helps the propagation of the species to
distant places. If the offspring of the same plant grew in close proximity with
each other, they would have to compete for food, water and space. Dispersal of
seeds to faraway places ensures that this problem is solved.
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