September 23, 2008

Fruit glorious fruit

The Royal Institution's Sowing the Seed event explores the strange and ingenious methods that plants use to disperse their seeds

Litchi chinensis chinensis: lychee — Detail of the surface of a lychee – the fruit of Litchi chinensis chinensis, a native of south China Photograph: Rob Kesseler/Wolfgang Stuppy/Papadakis, London

Surface of Actinidia deliciosa kiwi fruit — Microscopic detail of the fruit of Actinidia deliciosa or kiwi fruit. Artist Rob Kesseler and seed morphologist Wolfgang Stuppy used scanning electron microscopy to explore the variety of seeds and fruit for their book. Kesseler coloured the black-and-white images to highlight their structure and function Photograph: Rob Kesseler/Wolfgang Stuppy/PR

Flower bud of Drimys winteri or Winters bark tree — Flower bud of the winter's bark tree Drimys winteri, a native of Central and South America, sliced open to reveal petals, stamens and carpels Photograph: Rob Kesseler/Wolfgang Stuppy/Papadakis, London

Fruit of Calotis breviradiata or short-rayed burr daisy — Fruit of the short-rayed burr daisy (Calotis breviradiata), a native of Australia. The feathery "rays" may facilitate dispersal by wind and animals Photograph: Rob Kesseler/Wolfgang Stuppy/Papadakis, London

Flower of Phytolacca acinosa or Indian pokeweed — Flower of Indian pokeweed (Phytolacca acinosa) Photograph: Papadakis, London

Hylocereus undatus: dragon fruit or pitahaya — Fruit of the dragon fruit or pitahaya (Hylocereus undatus) encased in leaves. Inside, the fruit contains hundreds of tiny black seeds embedded in an edible, sweet, white or red pulp Photograph: Rob Kesseler/Wolfgang Stuppy

Garden strawberry — Fragaria x ananassa, aka garden strawberry Photograph: Rob Kesseler/Wolfgang Stuppy/PR

Detail of surface of garden strawberry — Seeds on the surface of a garden strawberry. The fruit's lurid colour and sweet flesh are a perfect inducement for birds to ingest and spread them to pastures new Photograph: Rob Kesseler/Wolfgang Stuppy/PR

Fruit of Hibiscus mutabilis or Confederate rose — Fruit of the Confederate rose (Hibiscus mutabilis), which is a native of China and Japan but has been naturalised in the southern states of the US. The hairs act as a parachute to help disperse the seed Photograph: Rob Kesseler/Wolfgang Stuppy/PR

Flower of Pararchidendron pruinosum or snow wood — Fruit of the snow wood (Pararchidendron pruinosum), which is native to south-east Asia, New Guinea and eastern Australia. The seeds look tasty but are in fact inedible, leading some botanists to suggest the plant is mimicking edible fruit to fool birds into dispersing them Photograph: Rob Kesseler/Wolfgang Stuppy/PR

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