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Autotoxicity - isn't nature fascinating?
josusa47
Posts: 3,530
I came across this phenomenon while studying biology at a French university. It's birth control for plants. Some plants produce compounds (I suppose they are released into the soil) which are toxic to their own seedlings. Only those that fall, or get carried, to a safe distance are able to grow. So the parent plant protects its own space and its supply of water, air and light from competition.
I'd never seen this in action until now. I rehomed a mature Fatsia japonica because it would look out of place in the mixed hedgerow I'm planning for that border. Within a few weeks, I was finding baby ones all around the area it had come out of. It had never self-seeded before in the five years I'd had it.
I'm carefully digging them out and potting them up, ready for the next fund-raising plant sale.
I'd never seen this in action until now. I rehomed a mature Fatsia japonica because it would look out of place in the mixed hedgerow I'm planning for that border. Within a few weeks, I was finding baby ones all around the area it had come out of. It had never self-seeded before in the five years I'd had it.
I'm carefully digging them out and potting them up, ready for the next fund-raising plant sale.
1
Posts
Maybe they do that to give the young a better chance to grow?
Annuals and biennials die after setting seeds. Maybe scattering the seed gives them fresh ground to germinate in.