The Four Seasons

Allochory

The dispersal of seeds using an external agent, such as wind, water, or animals.

Anemochory

The dispersal of seeds by wind, often utilizing structures like parachutes (thistles) or wings (sycamore).

Angiosperm

A flowering plant, which forms seeds inside a protective chamber called an ovary.

Annulus

A specialized ring of cells on a fern's sporangium that acts like a spring mechanism, peeling back and snapping forward to catapult spores into the wind.

Anther

The part of a flower's stamen that contains the pollen.

Apomixis

A method of asexual reproduction where a plant produces a seed without fertilization, creating a genetic clone of the parent (e.g., Dandelions).

Arthropods

An invertebrate animal group that includes insects, spiders, crustaceans, and millipedes, characterized by an exoskeleton and jointed legs.

Autochory

The self-dispersal of seeds by the parent plant itself, without external agents.

Ballochory

A method of explosive self-dispersal where tension in drying seed pods causes them to snap open, catapulting seeds away from the parent plant (e.g., Gorse).

Brumation

A state of dormancy in ectothermic (cold-blooded) animals like reptiles and amphibians, similar to hibernation.

Dehnel's Phenomenon

A survival mechanism where an animal, such as a common shrew, physically shrinks its skeleton, skull, and brain in winter to reduce its food requirements.

Diapause

A profound, programmed state of developmental arrest in arthropods, often involving the replacement of water with anti-freeze compounds like glycerol to survive freezing temperatures.

Double Fertilization

A process unique to angiosperms where one sperm fertilizes the egg to form the zygote, and a second sperm fuses with polar nuclei to form the endosperm (food supply).

Ectothermic

An organism that cannot regulate its own body temperature and relies on external sources of heat; commonly known as "cold-blooded."

Endosperm

The tissue produced inside the seeds of most flowering plants following fertilization, which surrounds the embryo and provides nutrition.

Endozoochory

A method of seed dispersal where an animal eats a fleshy fruit and the seeds pass through its digestive tract unharmed.

Epizoochory

A method of seed dispersal where seeds with hooks or burrs attach to the outside (fur or feathers) of a passing animal.

Haustoria

Specialized organs used by parasitic plants, like Yellow Rattle, to pierce the roots of a host plant and extract water and nutrients.

Hemi-parasite

A plant that is partially parasitic, obtaining some of its nutrients from a host but also photosynthesizing on its own.

Hibernation

A state of minimal activity and metabolic depression in endothermic animals, characterized by a drastic drop in body temperature and heart rate to conserve energy during winter.

Hydrochory

The dispersal of seeds by water, used by plants near rivers or coasts.

Irruption

An irregular, non-habitual, and often dramatic mass movement of a bird species to an area where they are not usually found, typically driven by a food source failure.

Peristome

Microscopic "teeth" ringing the mouth of a moss capsule that are sensitive to humidity, opening and closing to ensure spores are only released in dry, windy conditions.

Phenological Mismatch

An ecological disruption caused when interdependent species that rely on each other (e.g., a plant and its pollinator) respond to different seasonal cues and shift their life cycle timing out of sync.

Phenology

The study of the timing of periodic biological events in nature, such as flowering, migration, and hibernation, and how they are influenced by climate.

Phenophases

The specific life stages or events tracked in phenology, such as the date of the first flower or the arrival of a migratory bird.

Photoperiodism

An organism's physiological response to the length of day or night (the photoperiod).

Pollination Syndromes

Suites of co-evolved traits between flowers and their specific pollinators (e.g., flower shape, color, scent matching an insect's anatomy and senses).

Prothallus

A small, heart-shaped plantlet that grows from a fern spore; it contains the reproductive organs that, after fertilization, will grow into a new fern.

Rhizomes

Horizontal underground stems from which new roots and shoots can grow, allowing for vegetative (asexual) reproduction.

Runners

Horizontal above-ground stems from which new plants can grow.

Samaras

Winged seeds produced by trees like Sycamore and Ash that autorotate as they fall, slowing their descent and allowing the wind to carry them further.

Sori

Clusters of sporangia (spore-producing sacs) found on the underside of fern fronds.

Sporangia

The tiny sacs within a fern's sori that contain and release spores.

Spores

Microscopic, single-celled reproductive units used by fungi, ferns, and mosses.

Stigma

The receptive tip of a flower's pistil, which is responsible for catching pollen.

Tetrapods

The animal group consisting of four-limbed vertebrates, including mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.

Torpor

A state of decreased physiological activity in an animal, usually characterized by a reduced body temperature and metabolic rate. It enables animals to survive periods of reduced food availability and can be short-term (e.g., a single day).

Vernalization

The induction of a plant's flowering process by exposure to prolonged cold of winter.

Zoochory

The dispersal of seeds by animals, encompassing both internal (endozoochory) and external (epizoochory) methods.

Zygote

The initial cell formed when two gametes (e.g., sperm and egg) are joined by means of sexual reproduction; in plants, it develops into the embryo.