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Hi Nick & All, Dec 22, 2014
Why plants grow where they do, how they get there and the interaction of
flora & fauna are all interesting questions and sometimes difficult to
untangle by brute force whereas a telling observation may offer a clue.
Jack-in-the-Pulpit is a good example; usuallly described as being found
in wet areas or wooded swamps. So one might be led to assume that it
requires wet soil.
But some extremely vigorous plants (~1 M tall and large leaved) that I
found shortly after 1995 were on soil with extreme surface drainage and good
internal drainage. These were on overburden that had been pushed into a
ravine when the 101 was built (west of Exit 13), about 1970 I think, and
after about 25 years the soil was still shifting as evidenced by trees of
various sizes leaning downslope and earth that had dammed behind large trees
and left a cavity on the downslope side.
So this plant does not need wet soil it needs loose or shifting soil,
perhaps for penetration of the radicle or more likely for burial of the
seed. Wet sites often are subject to the growth of capillary ice (or ice
whiskers), and typically these minature ice forests will underlie a skim of
surface soil and contain small lenses of soil at depth. If these ice forests
melt from the surface downward, usually the case unless flooded from
upslope, any seed in the surface layer would have a good chance to be
buried.
I overlooked a second indication at the time but it is rather clear that
some animal, probably a bird, planted those seeds on the bank by eating the
fruit in some swamp and depositing the seeds on the soil bank.
Sometime when there is a lull in Naturens traffic, and I have time, I
will dig out some observations about dispersal of Common Lady's Slipper and
Epipactis helleborine.
Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
----- Original Message -----
From: "Nicholas Hill" <fernhillns@gmail.com>
To: <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
Sent: Monday, December 22, 2014 5:33 PM
Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Scat
> 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
>>
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>
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