Photo by Ude licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

A new form of seed dispersal has been described. It involves birds but not in the sense we traditionally think. Everyone understands how effectively birds disperse seeds contained in small fruits such as berries, or as barbs attached to their feathers. It took finding an out-of-place patch of Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) for lead author Dr. Robert Warren to start looking at bird dispersal in a different light.

While working in his yard, he noticed a patch of Japanese stiltgrass growing out of a window planter some 6 feet off the ground. Japanese stiltgrass can be highly invasive but its seeds aren't adapted for vertical dispersal. However, it does employ a mixed mating system composed of outcrossing flowers at the tips of the spikes along with cleistogamous flowers whose seeds remain on the stem. Taking out a ladder, Warren discovered that the grass was growing out of a bird nest. It would appear that stiltgrass stems containing seeds were incorporated into the nest as building material and then germinated the following year. Thus began a deeper investigation into the realm of nest seeds.

Teaming up with researchers at Yale and the United States Forest Service, they set out to determine how often seeds are contained within bird nests. They collected nests from 23 different bird species and spread them over seed trays. After ruling out seeds from potential contamination sources (feces, wind, etc.), they irrigated the nests to see what would germinate. The results are quite remarkable to say the least.

Over 2,000 plants, hailing from 37 plant families successfully germinated. In total, 144 different plant species grew from these germination trials. The seeds appeared to be coming in from the various plant materials as well as the mud used to build these nests. What's more, nearly half of the seeds they found came from cleistogamous sources. Birds whose nests contained the highest amounts of seeds were the American robbin (Turdus migratorius) and the eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis). These results have led the authors to coin the term "caliochory," 'calio' being Greek for nest and 'chory' being Greek for spread.

It has long been assumed that cleistogamous reproduction kept seeds in the immediate area of the parent plant. This evidence suggests that it might actually be farther reaching than we presumed. What's more, these numbers certainly hint that this otherwise unreported method of seed dispersal may be far more common than we ever realized. Whether or not plants have evolved in response to such dispersal methods remains to be tested. Still, considering the diversity of birds, their nesting habits, and the availability of various plant materials, these findings are quite remarkable!

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A new species of orchid has been discovered on the small Japanese island of Kuroshima. Though not readily recognized as an orchid, it nonetheless resides in the tribe Epidendroideae. Although the flowers of its cousins are often quite showy, this orchid produces small brown blooms that never open. What's more, it has evolved a completely parasitic lifestyle.

The discovery of this species is quite exciting. The flora of Japan has long thought to be well picked over by botanists and ecologists alike. Finding something new is a special event. The discovery was made by Suetsugu Kenji, associate professor at the Kobe University Graduate School of Science. This discovery was made about a year after a previous parasitic plant discovery made on another Japanese island a mere stones throw from Kuroshima.

Coined Gastrodia kuroshimensis, this interesting little parasite flies in the face of what we generally think of when we think of orchids. It is small, drab, and lives out its entire life on the shaded forest floor. Like the rest of its genus, G. kuroshimensis is mycoheterotrophic. It produces no leaves or chlorophyll, living its entire life as a parasite on mycorrhizal fungi underground. This is not necessarily bizarre behavior for orchids (and plants in general). Many different species have adopted this strategy. What was surprising about its discovery is the fact that its flowers never seem to open.

In botany this is called "cleistogamy." It is largely believed that cleistogamy evolved as both an energy saving and survival strategy. Instead of dumping lots of energy into producing large, showy flowers to attract pollinators, that energy can instead be used for seed production and persistence. Additionally, since the flowers never open, cross pollination cannot occur. The resulting offspring share 100% of their genes with the parent plant. Although this can be seen as a disadvantage, it can also be an advantage when conditions are tough. If the parent plant is adapted to the specific conditions in which it grows, giving 100% of its genes to its offspring means that they too will be wonderfully adapted to the conditions they are born into.

As you can probably imagine, pure cleistogamy can be quite risky if conditions rapidly change. In the face of continued human pressures and rapid climate change, cleistogamy as a strategy might not be so good. That is one reason why the discovery of this bizarre little orchid is so interesting. Whereas most species that produce cleistogamous flowers also produce "normal" flowesr that open, this species seems to have given up that ability. Thus, G. kuroshimensis offers researchers a window into how and why this reproductive strategy evolved.

Photo Credit: Suetsugu Kenji

Further Reading: [1]