Learning objectives
- Classify fruits as fleshy or dry, dehiscent or indehiscent
- Describe four agents of seed dispersal with adaptations
- Explain why dispersal is important
1. Fruit types
Fleshy fruits include berries (tomato, pawpaw) and drupes (mango, coconut). Dry dehiscent fruits split open to release seeds — legumes (beans, groundnut pods) and capsules (okra, cotton). Dry indehiscent fruits stay closed — caryopsis (maize grain), achene (sunflower).
A false fruit develops from parts other than the ovary, e.g. the cashew apple from the swollen receptacle/stalk.
2. Agents of dispersal
Wind: light seeds with hairs, wings or a pappus (cotton, dandelion, Tridax). Water: fibrous, air-filled, waterproof fruits (coconut). Animals: edible fleshy fruits or hooks that stick to fur (mango, Bidens). Explosive: pods dry and twist, flinging seeds (beans, Crotalaria).
Key definitions
- Fruit
- A mature, ripened ovary containing one or more seeds.
- Dehiscent
- A dry fruit that splits open when ripe to release its seeds.
- Pappus
- A ring of fine hairs on a fruit that acts as a parachute in wind dispersal.
Exam tips
- For each agent, give one adaptation and one named example — that is how marks are allocated.
Practice exam questions & model answers
Q1.Describe how seeds are adapted for wind and animal dispersal.
Wind-dispersed seeds are small and light with hairs, wings or a pappus that increase surface area, e.g. cotton and dandelion. Animal-dispersed fruits are brightly coloured, scented and fleshy so animals eat them and pass the hard-coated seeds, e.g. mango, or carry hooks that cling to fur, e.g. Bidens pilosa.
Continue revising
Plant Cell Structure and Function
Plant BiologyPhotosynthesis: Process, Equation and Limiting Factors
BotanyLeaf Structure, Stomata and Transpiration
Agricultural SciencePlant Nutrition, NPK and Soil Fertility
Put the theory to work — diagnose a real leaf photo or browse the disease library.