BIOL 140 Lecture Notes - Lecture 27: Capparis Mitchellii, Avocado, Endosperm
Document Summary
It has to fall 30m, if it were soft, it would splat. Most animals who eat fruit disperse the seeds. A squirrel eating acorn is killing the seed. A squirrel who buries an acorn is intending to eat it later on. The yellow outer part of fruit is hard, protection for softer edible fruit on the inside. Eaten by climbing mammals who go up tree and rip fruit open. Different circumstance: the fruit is developing many seeds inside one fruit. Let"s say there are 30 ovules in fruit and 10 of the pollen grains growing through it were high quality, 20 were not. 20 of the seeds are not what she wants to invest in. Seeds: white sweet stuff to attract monkeys, etc. Firm outer part to protect from fungi, insects, etc. Nobody eats the cacao seeds (bitter, nasty alkaloid compound) Palm fruit - animal eats outer part (mom), discards inner (kid)
