Many of us were taught in school that one of the key distinguishing features between gymnosperms and angiosperms is the production of fruit. Fruit, by definition, is a structure formed from the ovary of a flowering plant. Gymnosperms, on the other hand, do not enclose their ovules in ovaries. Instead, their unfertilized ovules are exposed (to one degree or another) to the environment. The word “gymnosperm” reflects this as it is Greek for “naked seed.” However, as is the case with all things biological, there are exceptions to nearly every rule. There are gymnosperms on this planet that produce structures that function quite similar to fruits.
The key to understanding this evolutionary convergence lies in understanding the benefits of fruits in the first place. Fruits are all about packing seeds into structures that appeal to the palates of various types of animals who then eat said fruits. Once consumed, the animals digest the fruity bits and will often deposit the seeds elsewhere in their feces. Propagule dispersal is key to the success of plants as it allows them to not only to complete their reproductive cycle but also conquer new territory in the process. With a basic introduction out of the way, let’s get back to gymnosperms.
There are 4 major gymnosperm lineages on this planet - the Ginkgo, cycads, gnetophytes, and conifers. Each one of these groups contains members that produce fleshy structures around their seeds. However, their “fruits” do not all develop in the same way. The most remarkable thing to me is that, from a developmental standpoint, each lineage has evolved its own pathway for “fruit” production.
For instance, consider ginkgos and cycads. Both of these groups can trace their evolutionary history back to the early Permian, some 270 - 280 million years ago, long before flowering plants came onto the scene. Both surround their developing seed with a layer of protective tissue called the integument. As the seed develops, the integument swells and becomes quite fleshy. In the case of Ginkgo, the integument is rich in a compound called butyric acid, which give them their characteristic rotten butter smell. No one can say for sure who this nasty odor originally evolved to attract but it likely has something to do with seed dispersal. Modern day carnivores seem to be especially fond of Ginkgo “fruits,” which would suggest that some bygone carnivore may have been the main seed disperser for these trees.
The Gnetophytes are represented by three extant lineages (Gnetaceae, Welwitschiaceae, and Ephedraceae), but only two of them - GnetaceaeandEphedraceae- produce fruit-like structures. As if the overall appearance of the various Gnetum species didn’t make you question your assumptions of what a gymnosperm should look like, its seeds certainly will. They are downright berry-like!
The formation of the fruit-like structure surrounding each seed can be traced back to tiny bracts at the base of the ovule. After fertilization, these bracts grow up and around the seed and swell to become red and fleshy. As you can imagine, Gnetum “fruits” are a real hit with animals. In the case of some Ephedra, the “fruit” is also derived from much larger bracts that surround the ovule. These bracts are more leaf-like at the start than those of their Gnetum cousins but their development and function is much the same.
Whereas we usually think of woody cones when we think of conifers, there are many species within this lineage that also have converged on fleshy structures surrounding their seeds. Probably the most famous and widely recognized example of this can be seen in the yews (Taxus spp.). Ovules are presented singly and each is subtended by a small stalk called a peduncle. Once fertilized, a group of cells on the peduncle begin to grow and differentiate. They gradually swell and engulf the seed, forming a bright red, fleshy structure called an “aril.” Arils are magnificent seed dispersal devices as birds absolutely relish them. The seed within is quite toxic so it usually escapes the process unharmed and with any luck is deposited far away from the parent plant.
Another great example of fleshy conifer “fruits” can be seen in the junipers (Juniperus spp.). Unlike the other gymnosperms mentioned here, the junipers do produce cones. However, unlike pine cones, the scales of juniper cones do not open to release the seeds inside. Instead, they swell shut and each scale becomes quite fleshy. Juniper cones aren’t red like we have seen in other lineages but they certainly garnish the attention of many a small animal looking for food.
I have only begun to scratch the surface of the fruit-like structures in gymnosperms. There is plenty of literary fodder out there for those of you who love to read about developmental biology and evolution. It is a fascinating world to uncover. More importantly, I think the fleshy “fruits” of the various gymnosperm lineages stand as a testament to the power of natural selection as a driving force for evolution on our planet. It is amazing that such distantly related plants have converged on similar seed dispersal mechanisms by so many different means.
Illustrationen für meinen Tieranatomiekurs zum Thema Analogiender Vorderextremitäten, die als Grundlage dafür dient, dass Tiergruppen bestimmte Lebensräume erschließen können.
Oben der Lebensraum Luft und die Tiergruppen Vögel und Fledertiere.
Illustrations playing with the topic of convergent evolution of forelimbs and its importance for making a certain ecological niche accessible to different animal groups.
Illustrationen für meinen Tieranatomiekurs zum Thema Analogiender Vorderextremitäten, die als Grundlage dafür dient, dass Tiergruppen bestimmte Lebensräume erschließen können.
Oben der Lebensraum Wasser und die Tiergruppen Wale, Pinguine und Schildkröten
Illustrations playing with the topic of convergent evolution of forelimbs and its importance for making a certain ecological niche accessible to different animal groups.
Above the niche water and whales, penguins and turtles.
Convergent evolution is wild, bc like, crabs keep evolving to look the same but aren’t closely related, nature is just like: BIG MEATY CLAWS, little legs, pincers, head, tiny eyes, let’s do it again!
and trees look the same but oak trees are more closely related to rose bushes than they are pine trees, fucked up
nature just likes these damns shapes:
but on the other hand, mammals flying with powered flight?? That shit only happened ONCE and it had to do some janky shit to get there, especially with bat immune systems
likebat’s immune systems are HYPER-POWERED as well as repress most of their inflammatory reactions because in order to fly they needed a bonkers-high metabolic rate which unfortunately also create waste products from the process called “free radicals” that damage cells
however, despite these free radicals they manage to live up to FORTY YEARS, which is super long for a species their size, because their immune system are basically always ON and in an anti-viral state that make them incubators for disease due to warfare between their jacked immune systems and disease
bats are so gdamn weird, I love them, no other mammal has been able to copy off their homework and accomplish the same shape, and for that they are the anti-crab of the natural world, God bless
It really worked out for them too, like it’s a hell of a lane and they have it all to themselves, so they’ve really filled their niche. There are more bats than almost any other kind of mammal. Like, there are a higher number of individual bats, but also the most KINDS of bat.
For example there are about 30 million white-tailed deer alive in the world, whereas there are 15 million Mexican free-tailed bats living in ONE single colony in Texas. But also, there are about 43 species of deer on the whole planet, 38 species of feline, 34 species of canine… and about 1,300 species of bat.
It is estimated that one out of every five living mammals on Earth is a bat, or, to put it another way, if you took every single mammal on the planet and counted them as individuals, 20% of those animals would be some kind of bat.
*These feathers are brought to you by CONVERGENT EVOLUTION!
So, here’s the Alucitidae Family!! Commonly known as the many-plumed moths!! (Note, there’s also just plume moths, in the Pterophoridaefamily,but I wanted to talk about these ones today)
Their wings are really something else! Each wing is made up of about 6 flexible spines from which bristles (similar to the barbs of bird feathers) project laterally forming feathers! There are about 200 species known, they are pretty small, the wingspan of adults ranging from 7-28mm. They are distributed in temperate and subtropical regions worldwide and, not surprisingly, are mostly nocturnal and some crepuscular. Their larvae tunnel through the leaves and buds of various shrubs, the larvae of the type species for example, Alucita hexadactyla (pictured above as adult, as larva below), feeds on honeysuckle!
ALT
Also as a little fun fact, until 2004 there was only one species of many-plumed moth known to live in North America, A. montana (lowest photo)which was by the way mistaken to be the same as the European type species I talked above, since then however, two more species have been discovered by Bernard and Jean-François Landry, A. adriendenisi (left) and A. lalannei (right)!
Convergent evolution is wild, bc like, crabs keep evolving to look the same but aren’t closely related, nature is just like: BIG MEATY CLAWS, little legs, pincers, head, tiny eyes, let’s do it again!
and trees look the same but oak trees are more closely related to rose bushes than they are pine trees, fucked up
nature just likes these damns shapes:
but on the other hand, mammals flying with powered flight?? That shit only happened ONCE and it had to do some janky shit to get there, especially with bat immune systems
likebat’s immune systems are HYPER-POWERED as well as repress most of their inflammatory reactions because in order to fly they needed a bonkers-high metabolic rate which unfortunately also create waste products from the process called “free radicals” that damage cells
however, despite these free radicals they manage to live up to FORTY YEARS, which is super long for a species their size, because their immune system are basically always ON and in an anti-viral state that make them incubators for disease due to warfare between their jacked immune systems and disease
bats are so gdamn weird, I love them, no other mammal has been able to copy off their homework and accomplish the same shape, and for that they are the anti-crab of the natural world, God bless
It really worked out for them too, like it’s a hell of a lane and they have it all to themselves, so they’ve really filled their niche. There are more bats than almost any other kind of mammal. Like, there are a higher number of individual bats, but also the most KINDS of bat.
For example there are about 30 million white-tailed deer alive in the world, whereas there are 15 million Mexican free-tailed bats living in ONE single colony in Texas. But also, there are about 43 species of deer on the whole planet, 38 species of feline, 34 species of canine… and about 1,300 species of bat.
It is estimated that one out of every five living mammals on Earth is a bat, or, to put it another way, if you took every single mammal on the planet and counted them as individuals, 20% of those animals would be some kind of bat.
It’s kind of obvious if you think about it that “tree” isn’t a real type of plant, but damn it sure is a Realization.
I see this and raise you: “Worm” is not a real type of animal. There are like, 12 phyla that are Just Worms but “worm” doesn’t even mean anything
The journey was a long winded one, a full twenty-four hours was lost via shuttle bus (which took nearly 6 hours) and then had to wait till 2am for the Melissa Express boat, a gut wrenching and stomach turning twelve hours of constant rocking and broken sleep that is accompanied by the sound of nearly sixty people being sick into plastic buckets that are provided for this specific reason…
Hello everyone, Only recently, I returned (slightly earlier than planned) from my latest adventure to the ancient and most biologically diverse islands on the planet, the island of Madagascar. For the past few months I have been traveling the eastern and central regions of this most magical of places, sleeping rough in a tent the middle of the rainforest to hiking through some of the most…
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Over the course of our planets history, thousands upon thousands of species of Fauna and Flora has both flourished and blossomed into marvelous species that can be found today, or they have disappeared off the face of earth, either naturally over the course of time or faced severe threats caused by none other than our very own species. Homo sapiens throughout its existence, has caused the…
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Ergilornis rapidus, a 1.2-1.5m tall bird (4′-5′) from the Early Oligocene of Mongolia (~33-28 mya). Closely related to modern cranes,trumpeters, and limpkins, it was part of an extinct group called eogruids – flightless birds which existed across Eurasia for a large portion of the Cenozoic from roughly 40-3 million years ago.
Although the earliest known eogruids were smaller and less specialized, and may even have still been somewhat capable of flying, later forms like Ergilornis had highly reduced wings, long legs adapted for running, and convergentlyostrich-like feet with only two toes each.
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