Thanks for the useful information and the photos, Anantanarayan ji, I am not aware of hydrophobic feature in plants. But hygroscopic character is commonly seen in plants. For e.g. the mature awn of grass Heteropogon contortus (Kadigaara mul in Tamil meaning hand/arm of a clock) that rotates 360 degree, when contacted with moisture. Due to this rotation, the basal part of the spikelet that contain seed get inserted deep into the soil facilitating successful germination.
Similar case in some Acanthaceae members such as Dipteracanthus. The capsules split swiftly after getting wet and the hooks (surrounding seeds) inside the capsule acts as trigger of a revolver expelling (shooting) the seeds with a force thus disbursing them to a greater distance. -- With regards R. Vijayasankar FRLHT, Bangalore --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "indiantreepix" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.co.in/group/indiantreepix?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
