Seed dispersal, and goldenrod's splendor

Seed dispersal, and goldenrod's splendor
Herb Broda

There are 21 goldenrod species in Northeast Ohio. Not all of those are found in the immediate area, but a walk in a local park will probably include at least six to 12 different varieties.

                        

“Strange things Happen to Guys Who Wear Pants” is a delightful piece written by NPR science correspondent Robert Krulwich. It’s about British botanist Edward Salisbury, who turned his pants into a mobile laboratory for studying seeds.

Professor Salisbury collected seeds by wearing pants with cuffs. After a walk in the countryside, he emptied the cuffs and found hundreds of hitchhiking seeds that he had collected. He then planted the seeds and grew more than 300 plants representing over 20 different species.

Although plants have been producing seeds all summer, seed production is at a peak right now. But producing seeds is only the first step in making sure a plant species survives.

It’s important seeds move beyond the immediate area of the original plant. The parent plant has already used nutrients from the soil around it, so the odds of seeds growing well there aren’t the best. The more randomly and widespread that seeds can move, the better.

Animals, including humans, are an important source of seed dispersal. Many seeds like burs have tiny hooks that attach to clothing or fur.

Like Professor Salisbury, a walk in the woods inspired another insight about seed dispersal. Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral returned from a walk with his dog and saw his coat and dog were both covered with burdock seeds. He closely examined the tiny hooks of the seed, and in 1955 he patented the product we refer to as Velcro.

Some plants produce fruit that just drops to the ground, but animals eat the fruit and eliminate the seeds away from where they found the fruit. Squirrels eagerly do their part by burying acorns all over the landscape.

Wind is another major factor in seed dispersal. Many plants attach seeds to feathery parachutes that can be carried hundreds of feet from the producing plant. Others produce aerodynamic shapes like the maple seed “helicopters” that are propelled through the air.

Some plants dramatically use explosive force to propel seeds beyond the parent plant. One of the most familiar in our area is jewelweed, which also goes be the name of Touch-Me-Not. The ripe side pods explode when touched by a passing animal and can travel more than 6 feet.

But jewelweed seems tame compared to the sandbox tree of tropical America. According to Britannica.com, it has pumpkin-shaped seed capsules that can propel seeds more than 300 feet at speeds of nearly 160 mph. People have been injured by these exploding seeds, and the sounds of the explosions can be heard in the forest.

This is a great time to take your kids or grandkids on a seed scavenger hunt. See how many different types you can find on just a short walk in a meadow area.

Goldenrod

Goldenrod is beautiful, and it’s everywhere. Whether you are on an interstate highway or a county road, you can’t miss those tall plants with the bright-yellow blooms. Sometimes entire fields glow with thousands of plants. Goldenrod is a dazzling introduction to the next season.

There are 21 goldenrod species in Northeast Ohio. Not all of those are found in our immediate area, but a walk in a local park will probably include at least six to 12 different varieties.

At first glance, all goldenrod looks tall, yellow and pretty. Look closer, though, and you quickly see some have flowers that form a flat-topped look, some have a pyramid or fan shape, others have flowers growing in a column up the stem, and still others are axillary flowers that form where the leaf joins the stem. See if you can find all four types this fall.

Online plant sale

The Friends of Secrest Arboretum are taking their fall plant sale online. The sale is an important fundraiser that supports projects and programs at the Arboretum. Shop for a wide selection of distinctive trees and shrubs, as well as ATI-grown mums.

The sale will run from Sept. 25 at 3 p.m. to Oct. 9 at 3 p.m. You can see the available selection at www.FriendsofSecrest.com. These are top-quality plants grown by knowledgeable horticulturists at the Arboretum. Curbside pickup is available at the Secrest Arboretum Propagation Headquarters, 23320 Selby Road, Wooster (on the OARDC campus).

Email Herb Broda at 4nature.notebook@gmail.com.


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