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Fleshy fruits are often a symbol of the rich and abundant harvest that is waiting for us at the end of summer. They contain all sorts of nutrients, vitamins and minerals that help to keep our bodies healthy and strong. There’s just one problem – these fruits have seeds, which can be quite difficult to remove! Why do fleshy fruit have seeds with such tough seed coats? The answer has everything to do with natural selection.
How are the seeds protected? Fleshy fruit has a tough seed coat to protect its delicate embryo. These fruits have often evolved in areas where there were many predators that would eat their fleshy treats and leave behind the hard, dry seeds. If they can’t finish eating all of it at once, animals will sometimes stop by for another helping just because they want more delicious food! This is how nature ensures that these plants continue to grow – even if some of them are left uneaten.
What’s so special about the seed coat? The tough layer around each individual seed or ovule plays an important role in protecting it from being eaten before it gets planted into the ground. It also protects against drying out while on a long journey.
The seed coat is also important because of the different types of seeds and fruits it protects. Some plants, like pine trees, produce a fruit that has an outer layer called a “cone” or “nut.” These have very tough cone scales to protect the center which holds all the seeds. Other examples are almonds and pecans – each with their own protective shell around its core! The seed coat becomes more challenging for predators when they try to get through layers upon layers in order to reach what’s inside. It can take so much effort just for one little bite that animals often give up trying after awhile..and will leave these hard-to-get treats alone once again!
In addition, some other foods we In many plants, the seeds are large and contain a lot of food to help them grow. The seed coats protect these valuable resources from getting eaten by animals before they can be planted in soil or on another surface. But when the plant is ripe (ready for harvest), it needs to get rid of its seeds so that new ones can come along and maybe produce fruit next year. So if you bite into an apple, grapefruit, orange, peach or pear..you’re going to release some seeds! This way the plant gets rid of all those hard-to-digest nutrients inside its fruits–and meets two goals at once: dispersing the nutritious material around while also making room for younger generations of plants.” Blog
