Editing Fruit (section)

== Seed dispersal ==
Variations in fruit structures largely depend on the [[Biological dispersal|modes of dispersal]] applied to their seeds. Dispersal is achieved by wind or water, by [[explosive dehiscence]], and by interactions with animals.<ref name="Capon198">{{cite book |last=Capon |first=Brian |title=Botany for Gardeners |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z2s9v__6rp4C&q=coconut+dispersal&pg=PA198 |year=2005 |publisher=Timber Press |isbn=978-0-88192-655-2 |pages=198–99 |access-date=2020-10-06 |archive-date=2024-01-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240130054356/https://books.google.com/books?id=Z2s9v__6rp4C&q=coconut+dispersal&pg=PA198 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Some fruits present their outer skins or shells coated with spikes or hooked burrs; these evolved either to deter would-be foragers from feeding on them or to serve to attach themselves to the hair, feathers, legs, or clothing of animals, thereby using them as dispersal agents. These plants are termed [[zoochorous]]; common examples include [[cocklebur]], [[unicorn plant]], and [[beggarticks|beggarticks (or Spanish needle)]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Heiser |first=Charles B. |title=Weeds in My Garden: Observations on Some Misunderstood Plants |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nN1ohECdSC8C&q=cocklebur&pg=PA93 |year=2003 |publisher=Timber Press |isbn=978-0-88192-562-3 |pages=93–95 |access-date=2020-10-06 |archive-date=2024-01-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240130054449/https://books.google.com/books?id=nN1ohECdSC8C&q=cocklebur&pg=PA93 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Heiser |title=Weeds in My Garden |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nN1ohECdSC8C&q=cocklebur&pg=PA164 |pages=162–64 |isbn=978-0-88192-562-3 |year=2003 |publisher=Timber Press |access-date=2020-10-06 |archive-date=2024-01-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240130054359/https://books.google.com/books?id=nN1ohECdSC8C&q=cocklebur&pg=PA164 |url-status=live }}</ref>

By developments of mutual evolution, the fleshy produce of fruits typically appeals to hungry animals, such that the seeds contained within are taken in, carried away, and later deposited (i.e., [[Defecation|defecated]]) at a distance from the parent plant. Likewise, the nutritious, oily kernels of [[Nut (fruit)|nuts]] typically motivate birds and [[squirrel]]s to [[hoarding|hoard]] them, burying them in soil to retrieve later during the winter of scarcity; thereby, uneaten seeds are sown effectively under natural conditions to [[Germination|germinate]] and grow a new plant some distance away from the parent.<ref name="McGee247" />

Other fruits have evolved flattened and elongated wings or helicopter-like blades, e.g., [[elm]], [[maple]], and [[tuliptree]]. This mechanism increases dispersal distance away from the parent via wind. Other wind-dispersed fruit have tiny "[[Pappus (flower structure)|parachutes]]", e.g., [[dandelion]], [[Asclepias|milkweed]], [[Tragopogon|salsify]].<ref name="Capon198" />

[[Coconut]] fruits can float thousands of miles in the ocean, thereby spreading their seeds. Other fruits that can disperse via water are [[nipa palm]] and [[screw pine]].<ref name="Capon198" />

Some fruits have evolved propulsive mechanisms that fling seeds substantial distances – perhaps up to {{cvt|100|m}} in the case of the [[sandbox tree]] – via explosive dehiscence or other such mechanisms (see [[impatiens]] and [[squirting cucumber]]).<ref>{{cite book |last=Feldkamp |first=Susan |title=Modern Biology |url=https://archive.org/details/modernbiology00feld |url-access=registration |year=2002 |publisher=Holt, Rinehart, and Winston |isbn=978-0-88192-562-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/modernbiology00feld/page/634 634]}}</ref>