Question

Fruits of Areca catechu are dispersed by
A. Wind
B. Animals
C. Water
D. Mechanical means

Answer 1

Hint: After fertilization, the ovary grows into a fruit and other parts of the flower fall off. The fruit is the ripened ovary. The seeds develop from the ovules. The seed contains an embryo enclosed in a protective seed coat. Some fruits are fleshy and juicy such as mango, apple, and orange. Some fruits are hard like almonds and walnuts

Complete step by step answer: In nature the same kind of plants grow at different places. This happens because seeds are dispersed to different places. Seeds and fruits of plants are carried away by the wind, water, and animals. Winged seeds such as those of drumstick and maple and light seeds of grasses or hairy seeds of aak (Madar) and hairy fruit of sunflower get blown off with the wind to faraway places. Some seeds are dispersed by water. These fruits or seeds usually develop floating ability in the form of a spongy or fibrous outer coat as in coconut. Some seeds are dispersed by animals, especially spiny seeds with hooks that get attached to the bodies of animals and are carried to distant places. Examples are Xanthium and Urena. Some seeds are dispersed when the fruits burst with sudden jerks. The seeds are scattered far from the parent plant. This happens in the case of castor and balsam. Areca catechu possesses fibrous mesocarp and stony endocarp. As it is a coastal plant and possesses fibrous mesocarp enables it to float.
So, the correct answer is option C. Water

Note: Plants benefit by seed dispersal. It prevents competition between the plant and its own seedlings for sunlight, water, and minerals. It also enables the plants to invade new habitats for wider distribution. Dispersal by wind requires lightweight and by animal requires structural peculiarities such as spikes, sticky glands. Fibrous mesocarp and stony endocarp do not help by mechanical means.