Fruit dispersal and trypanocarpy in brazilian cerrado grasses

Abstract

28 grass species from one hectare of cerrado vegetation in Botucatu, State of São Paulo, were studied with regard to the morphology and dispersal of their fruits. 13 species have dispersal units with smooth surfaces which are predominantly dispersed by big herbivorous mammals or birds which swallow them together with their food, e.g., during grazing (accidental endozoochory). On the other hand, smaller animals, including birds, also feed directly on the grains; some of them may escape trituration and digestion or may be even stored (synzoochory). 11 species are principally epizoochorous: 8 of these are ± exclusively adapted to epizoochory, adhering to the animals by scabrid awns or sharply pointed calli, while the rest behave as epizoochores and anemochores. 4 other species are predominantly anemochorous with their dispersal units bearing soft hairs, sometimes together with very small scabrid awns; in a wet state they also can adhere to animals (occasional epizoochory). Beside this, most grass fruits can behave as passive ballists, as passing animals, wind and rain may cause their dispersal units to fall to the ground (passive autochory). — Among the 28 species, 12 have dispersal units which are awned. In 7 of them the awns are spirally twisted; the base of the dispersal unit runs out into a sharply pointed callus and has harpoone-like hairs. These awns show hygroscopical movements which may lead to a drilling of the basal part of the dispersal unit into the sandy cerrado soil. This trypanocarpy is important for establishment but without function for dispersal.