Abstract:
The function of an immature fruit is to add to the photosynthate pool and
to protect the developing seed (see Chap. 17, this Vol.). Once ripe, the fruit
puts the seed in the appropriate dispersal agent(s) and keeps it away from
seed predators and inappropriate" dispersal agents". It is the selective pressures
associated with such a diverse and often conflicting set of demands that have
generated fruit physiology. To this date, the examination of fruit and seed
physiology has been almost entirely directed at either the use of these structures
as human food or as esoteric anatomical objects (KOZLOWSKI 1972, 1973; ROTH
1977). Here, instead of repeating the descriptive information in the above three
reviews, I dwell on why fruits and seeds have the traits they do, much in the
spirit of three recent reviews (JANZEN 1971, 1977 a, 1979a). The physiological
traits of seeds are generated by sibling rivalry, need for protection during development
and dispersal, parental resource allocation considerations, dispersal
agent traits, and resources needed by the young seedling. In short, a seed is
a one-move time-consuming recruitment attempt by the parent plant and the
fruit is its accomplice.
