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12/21/14</P Seeds are mostly singletons in fruits of 29 fruits, 21 are one-seeded, 6 two, and 2 three seeded. Seeds range from 2.5 to 3.5mm in long dimension (roughly spheres) and the grits in the scat, judging from the photo I posted , look like they are quartz from granite and appear the same size as the seeds. We haven't seen mourning doves yet but there are lots of junco. The dispersal of wild lily of valley is pretty much done except for populations in isolated areas, such as where I just got the fruits. The animal dispersal of native plants is relatively unexplored in Nova Scotia. Nick On Mon, Dec 22, 2014 at 3:30 PM, David & Alison Webster <dwebster@glinx.com> wrote: > Hi Nick & All. Dec 22, 2014 > I assume you are referring to Mainthemum canadense because Wild > Lily-of-the-Valley is the usual common name for this. It has two locules and > one to four seeds. I suppose seeds may be unusually large if only one ovule > is fertilized. > > I know almost nothing about bird crops but isn't 3-mm large grit for > something the size of a Junco ? That is about the size of grit we gave > poultry I think. Is Mourning Dove possible ? They frequent Mainthemum > habitat and gravel roads.. > > On the subject of seed spreading, years ago I found several hoards of > fruiting M. canadense plants, piled neatly in the chinks of a woodpile when > hauling wood. [I cut firewood into 16" lengths, tier it in the woods and > cover the tier top with polyethylene. The cumulative length of tiers over 33 > years would be about 8000' and I have found hoards of M. canadense only > once.] Either it is rarely hoarded or hoarded in other locations.. > I suspected Gapper's Red-backed Mouse because they were common there for > many years and often seen when I was hauling wood; usually leaving a nest > they had made in a tier. Unless the seed coat is unusually hard, Mice would > likely destroy the seeds when eating the dried fruit But if they carried > fruiting plants away from a patch, hid them in soil or under litter and did > not return then dispersal could be effected. > Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Nicholas Hill > To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca > Sent: Monday, December 22, 2014 12:49 PM > Subject: [NatureNS] Scat > > I wondered if any naturalist had an idea about what possible bird would eat > fruits of wild lily of the valley. It was a small scat and its crop > contained grit about the same diameter..maybe 3mm.. as the small seeds. > An aside: the Young Naturalists had a Christmas Bird count in Berwick and we > found a coyote scat that was all apple pomace then we found a squirrel's > feeding log that had bits of apple scattered about but no seeds. > Could juncos be dispersing the wild lily of the valley seeds? The single > seed takes up most of the fruit interior. > Nick > > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 2015.0.5577 / Virus Database: 4257/8781 - Release Date: 12/21/14
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