Skip Navigation


JXB Advance Access originally published online on March 25, 2009
Journal of Experimental Botany 2009 60(7):2045-2053; doi:10.1093/jxb/erp070
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrowOA All Versions of this Article:
60/7/2045    most recent
erp070v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Hayashi, M.
Right arrow Articles by Ellerby, D. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Hayashi, M.
Right arrow Articles by Ellerby, D. J.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Hayashi, M.
Right arrow Articles by Ellerby, D. J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© 2009 The Author(s).
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. This paper is available online free of all access charges (see http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/open_access.html for further details)

RESEARCH PAPER

The mechanics of explosive seed dispersal in orange jewelweed (Impatiens capensis)

Marika Hayashi, Kara L. Feilich and David J. Ellerby*

Department of Biological Sciences, Wellesley College, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, MA 02481, USA

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: dellerby{at}wellesley.edu

Explosive dehiscence ballistically disperses seeds in a number of plant species. During dehiscence, mechanical energy stored in specialized tissues is transferred to the seeds to increase their kinetic and potential energies. The resulting seed dispersal patterns have been investigated in some ballistic dispersers, but the mechanical performance of a launch mechanism of this type has not been measured. The properties of the energy storage tissue and the energy transfer efficiency of the launch mechanism were quantified in Impatiens capensis. In this species the valves forming the seed pod wall store mechanical energy. Their mass specific energy storage capacity (124 J kg–1) was comparable with that of elastin and spring steel. The energy storage capacity of the pod tissues was determined by their level of hydration, suggesting a role for turgor pressure in the energy storage mechanism. During dehiscence the valves coiled inwards, collapsing the pod and ejecting the seeds. Dehiscence took 4.2±0.4 ms (mean ±SEM, n=13). The estimated efficiency with which energy was transferred to the seeds was low (0.51±0.26%, mean ±SEM, n=13). The mean seed launch angle (17.4±5.2, mean ±SEM, n=45) fell within the range predicted by a ballistic model to maximize dispersal distance. Low ballistic dispersal efficiency or effectiveness may be characteristic of species that also utilize secondary seed dispersal mechanisms.

Key words: Balsaminaceae, dehiscence, Impatiens, seed dispersal

Received 5 December 2008; Revised 20 February 2009 Accepted 23 February 2009


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.