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Leaves often show signs of some damage by herbivores, but only rarely are most or all of the leaves on a given plant eaten. As a result, green leafy plant tissues is abundant in cove forests during...
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The most effective defense against herbivores are chemicals. Leaves, stems and roots often various chemicals that deter herbivores. For example, oaks have bitter-tasting chemicals called tannins that...
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Hairs, spines and thorns occur on leaves and/or stems of certain plants. These mechanical defenses may provide some protection from larger herbivores, such as deer, as well as small insects, such as...
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Herbaceous plants of cove forests, such as violets, trilliums and bloodroots (as well as many others), have ant-dispersed seeds. Such seeds have a small lipid-rich food body attached to the seed. Ants...
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In late summer and fall, squirrels collect and bury large numbers of newly ripened acorns. Many of these acorns are later recovered and eaten. Others, however, go undiscovered and can germinate and...
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Fruits eaten by animals are not necessarily edible for humans. Since fruits of some plants are poisonous (for humans), you should never eat fruits of wild plants unless you are absolutely certain they...
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The fruits produced by oaks (acorns) are an extremely important food source for mammals, such as squirrels, deer and black bear. Because acorns are rich in carbohydrates and proteins, populations of...
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Animals that feed on fruit are frugivores. The most common frugivores are birds. Birds readily remove large numbers of ripe fruits from plants, and intact seeds generally pass through a bird's...
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On warm spring days, flowers are often actively visited by pollinators. However, in late winter and early spring, when many herbaceous plants are in flower, it is often too cold for pollinators to fly...
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Trees, such as oaks and hickories, and herbaceous plants such as grasses and sedges have small inconspicuous flowers that lack nectar, odor and bright colors. Because these plants are wind-pollinated...