July 03, 1980 - Wildflowers Disperse Seeds in Various WaysSECOND SECTION
The *Uffolh Timeq
July 3, 1980
Wildflowers Disperse Seeds in Various Ways
One of the joys of being involved in the
natural world is the continual meeting of
old friends. Not in the usual sense of the
word but in the sense of familiar plants,
birds and animals. I can't step outside my
door without bumping into one of them and
of course, whenever I'm on a trip they are
there to greet me.
Just this past week we had the occasion
to be on one of our more out -of- the -way
beaches out here on the East End and
came across It wad Z5 years ago or more
horned poppy. more
when I was first introduced tot is striking
yellow flower with its long, green,
seed pod.
Vinton Richards of Orient was one of
those people whose talent and knowledge
of the plant world was little known, except
to a few. His love was plants, and most of
his retired life was spent in pursuit of
photographing them. He used an old 4x5
camera and I can see him now, carefully
and laboriously setting up the cumber-
some old equipment. Then, with a large
black cloak over his head and his camera
he'd focus and refocus 'til his subject was
just right.
He had an eye for composition. One,
possibly two exposures he'd take, and
what photographs they'd be! Many are
found in "Rickett's Wildflowers of the
United States" and one of the beautiful
rose mallow adorns the cover. In my
opinion he was one of the best, and the
wonderful part of it all was that I shared
many experiences in the field with him.
The horned poppy you see above was
photographed on one of those trips with
Vinton in Orient. State Park on Long
Beach.
Pod Shoots Off Seeds
I took a blossom home, along with one of
the long seed pods that give it its name,so
that I might show my wife this wild
beauty. We put it in water and left it on the
windowsill above the sink. All went well
for a few days and then the blossom faded
and the seed pods began to dry out.
One morning, as Barbara was making
sandwiches beside the lighted stove she
felt something strike her and then saw
something landing on the table amongst
the sandwiches. We found the seed pod had
dried from the additional heat of the stove
to the point which triggered the seeds to
spiral off and fly through the air in all
directions. Nature has provided this plant
with a unique way of dispersing its seeds.
We can see why dispersernent is so
essential, for if all seeds dropped directly
down, plants would not spread; instead
they would choke each other out.
Seeds are dispersed in many ways.
We've all had the cocklebur catch on to our
clothing or had a snarl of this bur caught in
our dog's coat. Well, that's just another
way seeds are moved around. Wind, of
course, is probably the greatest scatterer
of seeds. The familiar down of this thistle
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and the milkweed and the ever - flowing
phragmite seeds in the fall are only a few
examples of plant seeds being blown
helter - skelter for next year's growth.
Birds and animals do an exceedingly
good job in distributing seeds around. A
berry eaten by a bird or animal has the
seed pass right through him and deposits it
many miles from the original plant.
Desolate islands soon become palm -lined
and heavily cloaked in green from seeds
that float ashore. These are only a few
examples of the fascinating ways seeds
are dispersed, and the more you find out
about the ways of plants, the more the
world becomes an exciting place to be.
Easily Tested Phenomenon
The phenomenon of bursting seeds can
be tested out by using familiar plants in
and around the home. Find the ripened
seed pod of your favorite impatiens, or if
you know the touch -me -not that grows in
wet areas take its seed pod and place it in
the palm of your hand for a moment -not
too tight and presto! The seed pod will
burst open. It's a great trick to show your
children or grandchildren, as their eyes
will literally pop open when they see the
seeds exploding in their hands.
The horned poppy actually comes from
Europe and most likely came to this
country like so many of our immigrants in
the past, by boat. Most of the roadside
wildflowers are not native, but immi-
grants that came over here in bags of seed
by boat, or just stowed away in one way or
another. Our beautiful daisy is a classic
example of a non - native plant that most of
us, including myself, consider a real
native.
All of us, with the exception of the
American Indian, have been immigrants
in the past and we, like the immigrant
plants, have done much to brighten and
enhance this country. True, some of us
have weeds in our ancestry, yet, even the
weed has hope, for it was Emerson who
once said, "What is a weed? A plant whose
virtues have not yet been discovered."
PAULSTOUTENBURGH
HORNED POPPY - -This is an immigrant that is found along our stony
shore, particularly on the beaches of Orient, Shelter Island and
Gardiners Island. Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
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