In all six Zelkova tree species mature fruits fall with the entire twig, and the dried leaves that are still attached function as a parachute, carrying the fruits a few metres away from the parent tree (see attached pictures, first photo: twig of Zelkova serrata from Taiwan, second: dispersed twigs of Z. abelicea from Crete).
Does anybody know other similar examples of such dispersal mechanisms in other trees/woody species?
For more images of fruits, and more details on the relict tree genus Zelkova see www.zelkova.ch and the publications available on this webpage.
Does sound unusual. Closest I can think of are several arid lands Amaranthaceae and Asteraceae, where the whole plant dries up and gets rolled around by the wind, releasing seeds along the way. I'm wondering if any species of Quercus or Nothofagus, which are morphologically similar, might do the same and maybe it went unnoticed? Perhaps in conifers some brachyblasts fall of with the cones? But it would be the dolichobasts that would be more similar to what you are describing.
Thanks for this valuable hints. I have checked Nothofagus in the literature and it is rather improbably since they are shedding their seeds one by one. I will check Quercus. Tilia and perhaps Alnus might be good candidates to search for similar dispersal stratégies...
The falling/dispersing shoots of Zelkova are short... but in my opinion they are dolichoblasts (I am not an expert). So, the system of Zelkova is different in comparison with Taxodium/Metasequoia and some other conifers.
One more good candidate is Hemiptelea davidii (Ulmaceae) from China/Korea... which is not a surprise since this species is very closely related to Zelkova. The morphology of leaves, branch architecture and fruits position on the young branches is very similar with Zelkova. Does anybody possess a good pictures of fruiting twigs this taxon??
I found that twigs with attached fruit would break off and do the same thing in Prumnopitys ferruginea in my research here in New Zealand.
Andrew :-)
Prumnopitys is a conifer (Podocarpaceae) - and it is known that some conifers are shedding shoots with seeds/cones (probably in Cryptomeria, Taxodium, etc.). But the phenomenon is extremely rare among angiosperms – if not exclusive to Zelkova.
I have seen that Prumnopitys has berry-like seed cones (as many Podocarpaceae) - they are dispersed by birds - is that correct? So, it would be interesting to know if other deispersal mechanisms exist in this species (I mean anemochory with whole twigs).
- Badges
- Science method
- Similar topics
- Biological Science
- Ecology