The whole life of the plant is directed to the main episode, to flowering and subsequent fruiting. After fruiting, annual plants dry out, perennial ones prepare for a new season, which will allow them to give seeds again, and they can be very different. Spikelets, vegetables and fruits, nuts, and much more of what people are accustomed to consider their usual food, is nothing more than the seeds of plants.

Seeds are diverse, can have a variety of properties. To verify this, just consider some interesting facts about plants.

Seeds penetrate everywhere

In 1883, the strongest eruption of the volcano Krakatau occurred. On the island of the same name in Indonesia, all living things disappeared, including plants, it was completely empty. However, a decade later it was discovered that its vegetation was actively restored, and did it on its own, without human help. But how could this happen if the island was separated from other land by water and the local vegetation was completely destroyed? Over time, this phenomenon has ceased to be considered a miracle, much has been clarified in detail.

How do coconut palms appear on the islands?

The first appeared coconut palms, which generally appear first almost always, even on volcanic islands that have recently emerged from under water. The fact is that coconut palms love to grow on the coast, and each year they form coconuts as seeds, which often fall in the sea. Coconuts successfully withstand even a long journey through sea water; the shell protects well. And then, sooner or later, they are nailed to the shore.They germinate in a new area, begin to bear fruit, forming another palm grove.

Flying seeds

Also on the island appeared those species of plants that have very light seeds, equipped with parachutes and other formations that make them suitable for a long flight. Light seeds rise high into the atmosphere and can fly tens, hundreds of kilometers to a new planting site.

Seed spacing by birds

And all this - not to mention the efforts of animals that are able to accidentally spread seeds. Since in this case there was no talk of animals, since there were none on the island, it is necessary to note the birds, which also can carry randomly caught spiny seeds on their plumage. In addition, herbivorous birds involuntarily distribute seeds with droppings, with undigested particles. And so such a quick restoration of the island's flora is not a miracle at all. This happens everywhere - for example, carduelis help turnip spread, crossbills scatter grains from cones, bullfinches drop grains from apples and berries.

Interesting fact: animals and birds contribute to the spread of plants through their seeds everywhere. Birds love bright fruits and often throw their seeds away, or they remain undigested. Proteins collect acorns, but do not always use buried reserves - and acorns in hiding places begin to sprout.

Facts About Seeds That Amaze

• Plant seeds are exceptionally tenacious - archaeologists find them in ancient dishes and repositories during excavations, and some of them successfully germinate.The oldest germinated seed was about 10 thousand years old;
• Some seeds germinate very quickly - for example, bamboo grows on average by 40 cm per day, and one of its species, edible leaf-grate, can grow by 120 cm per day;
• The pods of mora, a tree from Guiana, have a size of up to 25 cm, but this is not so much. St. Thomas's creeper reaches two meters long and a half meters wide, and a number of other types of vines also have similar seeds.

Thus, seeds are interesting elements that can attract attention not only as a source of food. Yes, many of them are edible, but others have medicinal properties, can be used as dyes.