Wind dispersal of artificial fruits varying in mass, area, and morphology.

Quantified the independent effects of variation in several fruit characteristics and in wind speed on dispersal of the windblown samaras of Tachigalia versicolor on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. In general, the horizontal distance a model fruit moves from the base of the tower is proportional to the average wind speed to which it was subject during the whole of its descent, divided by the square root of its wing-loading (wing-loading is the force of gravity on the fruit divided by its projected surface area). Model fruits that had the lowest wing-loading (achieved by decreasing seed mass or increasing fruit area) or that were blown by the strongest mean winds were dispersed the greatest mean distances and were scattered most evenly and over the widest area. -from Authors