Different fruits showing their seeds. Image credit blogspot.com
ZIMSEC O Level Combined Science Notes: Reproduction in plants: Reproduction in Plants:Comparing different fruits and seeds
Materials: a variety of fruits
Method
- Collect and gather different types of fruits that are found in your area
- Group the fruits in accordance with how they are dispersed e.g. wind and animal’s
- Observe and record the features and ways in which the fruits have adapted to each type of dispersal
Observation
- The fruits of plants like the black jack have sticky spikes which allow them to attach themselves to animal hairs and human clothes
- This allows them to be dispersed by animals
- Fruits of plants like guavas and mangoes are succulent and juicy.
- With guavas the seeds are hard and resilient thus allowing them to be consumed and passed out some distance away from the parent plant
- Mangoes are eaten and their seeds tossed away some distance from the parent plant
- Plants like dandelions have fruits that have “wings”
- The seeds of these plants are also light which means they are easily picked up by the wind, float for some distance before settling
- Plants like the msasa tree have pods which explode thus spreading the seeds a distance away from the parent
To access more topics go to the Combined Science Notes page.
