Sphagnum moss disperses spores with vortex rings - PubMed (original) (raw)
. 2010 Jul 23;329(5990):406.
doi: 10.1126/science.1190179.
Affiliations
- PMID: 20651145
- DOI: 10.1126/science.1190179
Sphagnum moss disperses spores with vortex rings
Dwight L Whitaker et al. Science. 2010.
Abstract
Sphagnum spores, which have low terminal velocities, are carried by turbulent wind currents to establish colonies many kilometers away. However, spores that are easily kept aloft are also rapidly decelerated in still air; thus, dispersal range depends strongly on release height. Vascular plants grow tall to lift spores into sufficient wind currents for dispersal, but nonvascular plants such as Sphagnum cannot grow sufficiently high. High-speed videos show that exploding capsules of Sphagnum generate vortex rings to efficiently carry spores high enough to be dispersed by turbulent air currents. Spores launched ballistically at similar speeds through still air would travel a few millimeters and not easily reach turbulent air. Vortex rings are used by animals; here, we report vortex rings generated by plants.
Comment in
- Plant science. Launched at 36,000g.
van Leeuwen JL. van Leeuwen JL. Science. 2010 Jul 23;329(5990):395-6. doi: 10.1126/science.1193047. Science. 2010. PMID: 20651138 No abstract available.
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