These Seeds Can Walk! | The Green Planet | BBC Earth

BBC Earth2 minutes read

Ancestral grasses like wild oats from Israel have seeds with long bristles called horns that twist and untwist, allowing them to move along the ground until finding a place to hide or drill into. This unique adaptation led our ancestors to select plants with seeds that don't walk away or bury themselves, resulting in the development of larger seeds in crops worldwide.

Insights

  • The twisting horns on seeds of ancestral grasses like wild oats from Israel allowed them to move along the ground, influencing human selection towards plants with stationary seeds, leading to the development of larger seeds in crops globally.
  • The evolutionary strategy of seed mobility through twisting horns showcases how human interactions with plants have shaped agricultural practices and crop characteristics over time, highlighting the profound impact of human selection on plant evolution.

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Recent questions

  • What are the unique features of ancestral grass seeds?

    They have long bristles called horns that twist and untwist.

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Summary

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Seed adaptation influences crop evolution and size.

  • Ancestral grasses like wild oats from Israel have seeds with long bristles called horns that twist and untwist, allowing them to move along the ground until finding a place to hide or drill into. This unique adaptation led our ancestors to select plants with seeds that don't walk away or bury themselves, resulting in the development of larger seeds in crops worldwide.
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