How have fruits contributed to the success of angiosperms?
A. By attracting insects to the pollen inside
B. By nourishing plants that make them
C. By producing diploid cells via double fertilization
D. By producing sperm and eggs inside the protective coat
E. By facilitating disposal of seeds.
The correct answer and explanation is :
The correct answer is: E. By facilitating disposal of seeds.
Explanation (Approximately 300 words):
Fruits have played a crucial role in the evolutionary success and global dominance of angiosperms (flowering plants) by facilitating the dispersal of seeds. After fertilization in angiosperms, the ovary of the flower develops into a fruit, which encases the seeds. This structure is not just a protective shell—it serves a vital function in spreading the plant’s offspring to new locations, which reduces competition among seedlings and increases the chances of colonizing new habitats.
Fruits come in a wide variety of forms, and each is adapted to a particular mode of seed dispersal. Some fruits are fleshy and sweet, such as apples, berries, and mangoes. These attract animals, which eat the fruit and later excrete the seeds far from the parent plant, often with a natural fertilizer. Other fruits are dry and may have adaptations like wings (as in maples) for wind dispersal, or hooks (as in burdock) that attach to animal fur or clothing.
This diversity in dispersal methods has allowed angiosperms to occupy almost every terrestrial environment on Earth. By using animals, wind, or even water to carry seeds away from the parent plant, fruits help ensure that at least some offspring find favorable conditions to grow. This gives angiosperms a significant ecological advantage over many non-flowering plants that rely on more limited or passive dispersal mechanisms.
Moreover, the mutualistic relationships formed between angiosperms and animals—where animals get nutrition from fruits and plants get their seeds dispersed—have driven co-evolution and further enhanced angiosperm success.
In short, fruits are not just byproducts of plant reproduction—they are essential evolutionary innovations that have enabled angiosperms to spread, adapt, and thrive across the planet.
