Fruits and Dispersal
The tree gets its common name from the large, spherical fruits it produces. The fruit falls from the tree and cracks open when it hits the ground when mature, often causing the sound of a small explosion. The fruit emits an unpleasant aroma when exposed to the air. Individual seeds within the "ball" are coated with hair, which is thought to protect the seed when it is ingested and may also help in the passage of the seed through the intestines. The cannonball tree and its fruit are thought by some to be remnants of the last ice age, like the "hedge apple" or "osage orange" of north America. The fruit is thought to be an adaptation provided for the giant ground sloth, a long extinct species. Today instead of seeds being dispersed by the large extinct mammal, the fruit simply rots around the base of its mother tree. Like coconut palms, the trees should not be planted near paths or near traffic-filled areas, as the heavy nut is known to fall without notice.
Read more about this topic: Couroupita Guianensis
Famous quotes containing the word fruits:
“I care not by what measure you end the war. If you allow one single germ, one single seed of slavery to remain in the soil of America, whatever may be your object, depend upon it, as true as effect follows cause, that germ will spring up, that noxious weed will thrive, and again stifle the growth, wither the leaves, blast the flowers, and poison the fair fruits of freedom. Slavery and freedom cannot exist together.”
—Ernestine L. Rose (1810–1892)