Wind-dispersed tree species are numerous in the warm, moist forests of the tropics—especially for tall trees in areas where there is a slight to prominent dry season. The height of the tree is important to enable the diaspore to catch the wind currents. The shape of wind-dispersed diaspores is often critical to their dispersal as well. Maple seeds have a
samara and set up a whirling pattern as they fall, which may assist them in implantation. Poplar and willow seed are borne in a loose, cottony mass, which is extremely buoyant even in weak air currents. Although different
morphological structures have evolved to disperse tree seed, the most common form of seed dispersal is wind-dispersed.
Typically, wind-dispersed species in tropical areas with seasonally dry periods lose their fruits late in the dry season or in the early rainy season that follows. This ensures adequate moisture for germinating seeds and adequate establishment before the next dry season. Wind-dispersed seeds have the distinct disadvantage of being at the peril of the elements. Most do not get carried very far away from the mother plant, and the population of insects that feed on the particular plant increases greatly at the time of flowering and can often destroy much of the crop.
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