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  Re: Survival strategies (bulblets)
From: "Julius Boos" ju-bo at email.msn.com> on 2000.08.09 at 14:38:10(5266)
Dear Friends,

Just a quick note to add to this discussion---Dr. Guanghua Zhu, in his as
yet unpublished work on the Neotropical Aroid genus Dracontium, suggests the
same dispersal strategy for Dracontium, with its numerous, large bulbils
located on top of some of the species` tubers. He suggests that wild
Peccaries (which I like ALMOST as much as I like Warthogs!) and other
animals may help to dislodge and so spread these bulbils while feeding on
the starch-filled large tubers. Of course, these bulbils are also ideally
suited for distrubition by humans, who transport these tubers from where
they may be found to where they may travel, and when the tubers are peeled
for cooking, or are being dug, these easily detached bulbils are spread!
(Paper in prep. on this by me).

Cheers,

Julius

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