Diaspore
Definition
Any plant propagule adapted for dispersal, including seeds, single-seeded fruits, and seed-fruit units. Many diaspores have morphological adaptations (hooks, barbs, mucilage, wings) that also determine how readily they attach to and persist on clothing and vehicles.
- Includes
- Seeds, single-seeded fruits, seed-fruit units
- Dispersal adaptations
- Hooks, barbs, mucilage, wings
- Forensic relevance
- Attachment and persistence on clothing and vehicles
Common questions
Why do diaspore adaptations matter for trace evidence transfer?+
Structures like hooks or barbs that evolved to catch on animal fur for dispersal also catch readily on clothing fabric and vehicle surfaces, meaning a diaspore's persistence at a scene or on a suspect can indicate recent contact with a specific plant community or location.
How does a diaspore differ from a seed in botanical terms?+
A seed is just the reproductive structure containing the embryo, while a diaspore is the whole unit that actually gets dispersed, which may be a bare seed, a fruit enclosing one or more seeds, or a combined seed-fruit structure depending on the species.
Related terms
- Cuticle
- The waxy, polymer layer covering the outer surface of leaf epidermal cells. It protects against water loss and herbivory but, forensically, it...
- Endosperm
- The nutritive tissue inside many seeds, surrounding or adjacent to the embryo. Its presence, consistency (starchy, oily, ruminate), and extent are used...
- Hilum
- The scar on a seed where it was attached to the funiculus inside the fruit. Shape, size, and position of the hilum...
- Testa
- The seed coat, derived from the integuments of the ovule. Its surface sculpture (smooth, reticulate, foveolate, echinate, and so on) is a...
- Venation
- The arrangement of veins within a leaf, including the hierarchy of midrib, secondary veins, and tertiary reticulation, and the shape of the...