Ad
related to: trees with samara seeds
Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
The shape of a samara enables the wind to carry the seed further away from the tree than regular seeds would go, [3] and is thus a form of anemochory. In some cases the seed is in the centre of the wing, as in the elms (genus Ulmus ), the hoptree ( Ptelea trifoliata ), and the bushwillows (genus Combretum ).
The fruit is a pair of samaras (winged seeds). The seeds are globose, 7–10 mm (9 ⁄ 32 – 13 ⁄ 32 in) in diameter, the wing 2–3 cm (3 ⁄ 4 – 1 + 1 ⁄ 4 in) long. The seeds fall from the tree in autumn, where they must be exposed to 45 days of temperatures below 4 °C (39 °F) to break their coating down.
Male flowers Seeds of Fraxinus excelsior, popularly known as "keys" or "helicopter seeds", are a type of fruit known as a samara. It is a large deciduous tree growing to 12–18 m (39–59 ft) (exceptionally to 43 m or 141 ft) tall with a trunk up to 2 m (6.6 ft) (exceptionally to 3.5 m or 11 ft) diameter, with a tall, narrow crown. [2]
The flowers are in dense clusters, produced before the leaves in early spring, [5] with the seeds maturing in early summer. The fruit is a schizocarp of two single-seeded, winged samaras. The wing of each samara is about 3–5 cm (1 + 1 ⁄ 4 –2 in) long. The fruit of this species is the largest among the maples native to its range.
The seeds borne on the female trees are 5 mm (0.2 in) in diameter and each is encapsulated in a samara that is 2.5 cm (1 in) long and 1 cm (0.4 in) broad, appearing July through August, but can persist on the tree until the next spring. [12]
The seeds, popularly known as "keys" or "helicopter seeds", are a type of fruit known as a samara. Some Fraxinus species are dioecious , having male and female flowers on separate plants but sex in ash is expressed as a continuum between male and female individuals, dominated by unisexual trees.
When shed, the wing of the samara catches the wind and rotates the fruit as it falls, slowing its descent and enabling the wind to disperse it further from the parent tree. The seeds are mature in autumn about four months after pollination. [15] [16]
The fruit is a double samara with two winged seeds, the seeds are disc-shaped, slightly flattened, 13 millimetres (0.51 in) to 18 millimetres (0.71 in) across. The wings are 2 centimetres (0.79 in) long, widely spread, approaching a 180° angle. The bark is greenish-grey, smooth in young trees, becoming shallowly grooved in mature.