世界上最小和最大的植物种子
世界上最小和最大的植物种子
The World's Smallest&Largest Seed
Certain epiphytic orchids of the tropical rain forest produce the word's smallest seeds weighing only 35millionths of an ounce.They are dispersed into the air like minute dust particles or single-cellde spores,eventually coming to rest in the upper canopy of rain forest trees.The word's largest seed comes from Seychelles Island Palm,native to the Seychelles Archipelago in the Indian Ocean.Although it belongs to a different genus from true coconut palms(Cocos),this enormous seed is often called the "double coconut".A single seed may be 12 inches long,nearly three feet in circumference and weigh 40pounds.Palms also have the record for largest leaves.The raffia palm(Raphia regalis)of tropical Africa has huge pinnate leaves up to 80feet long.The leaves of the Amazonian palm(Manicaria saccifera)are nearly 30feet(8 meters)long,and have been listed by some authors as the longest undivided leaf of any plant.There are many other intresting things about palms.The golf ball-sized fruits of Manicaria palms are drift fruits,called"sea coconuts,"commonly wash ashore by ocean currents on beaches throughout the Caribbean and southern Florida.
世界上最小和最大的植物种子
热带雨林中某些属于附生植物的兰花，能产生世界上最小的种子，其重量仅及一盎司的百万分之三十五。这些种子如同细小的尘埃或单细胞的孢子被发散到空气中，最终落脚于雨林中由大树林荫构成的"天篷"上。世界上最大的种子来自生长于印度洋塞舌尔群岛的塞舌尔棕榈。尽管它本是有别于真正的椰子的另一类棕榈树的种子，但通常这种巨大的种子总是被人称为"双椰子"。其单粒种子可长达12英寸、圆周近3英尺，重量可达40磅。棕榈科植物还保持着拥有"最大叶片植物"的纪录。产自热带非洲的酒椰棕榈长达80英尺的羽状叶片。南美的亚马逊棕榈的叶长近30英尺（8米），被部分植物学家列为所有植物中拥有未分叉的最长叶片的植物。
棕榈科植物还有许多其他趣闻。马尼卡利亚棕榈的高尔夫球般大小、被称为"海椰子"的果实，是一种能在海洋中漂流的果实，经常被海流冲刷到从加勒比沿岸到佛罗里达州南部的海滩上。
