Seed pods of Ludlow's tree peony, Paeonia ludlowii (P. lutea var. ludlowii, P. delavayi var. ludlowii) showing ripe seeds on the point of being shed f

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Seed pods of Ludlow's tree peony, Paeonia ludlowii (P. lutea var. ludlowii, P. delavayi var. ludlowii) showing ripe seeds on the point of being shed from the capsule. Each pod contains up to ten seeds (black); each weighs approximately 1gm. Undisturbed, heavy seeds of this type fall directly to the ground. In a garden setting, this leads to seedlings developing in close proximity to the parent plant. In the wild, fallen seeds are collected by ground-dwelling rodents; some are eaten, and others, cached underground at some distance from the parent. Not all cached seeds are recovered by the animal that buried them. The plant thus achieves a degree of dispersal, ensuring that some of its offspring to grow in a more favourable site. P. ludlowii is a hardy shrub, native to China, bearing large yellow flowers in early Summer

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Size: 5212px × 3468px
Photo credit: © DR JEREMY BURGESS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: animal, biological, biology, botanical, botany, capsule, china, delavayi, dispersal, hardy, ludlowii, lutea, paeonia, peony, seed, shrub, tree, var