Columbine - Sticky seed pods

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Columbine - Sticky seed pods
Columbine - Sticky seed pods

The seed pods are drying out, so today I collected seeds. By rubbing these pods between my fingers I got the seeds to fall out. The first thing I noticed was that these openings almost always pointed up - the seeds wouldn't fall out by gravity alone.

Afterwards I noticed my fingers were sticky, which seemed odd until I focussed in on some black specks on the pods … seeds stuck to the outside of the pods. Interestingly they were also stuck on the sides of pods that hadn't opened yet, so seeds from one pod adhered to the side of other pods.

I expect this is some sort of seed dispersal adaptation. By sticking to neighboring pods they've already moved away from their source - a little. But once on the outside of a pod they could get brushed off by passing animals or be more readily available to seed-eating insects or birds. This would result in their being spread further than by gravity alone.

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Taken on: July 15, 2015
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Camera: Nikon D200, f/6.3, 1/350 sec, 105mm (=157mm), ISO 250 (more info) (hide info)
Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED
Aperture: f/6.3
Exposure Time: 0.003 sec (1/350)
Focal Length: 105mm (35mm equivalent: 157mm)
ISO: 250
Exposure Bias: -1 EV
Flash: No Flash
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual
Metering Mode: Spot
White Balance: Manual
Light Source: Shade
Color Space: sRGB
Software: Ver.2.01
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