>>A math-teaching colleague of mine asked today why fruits tend to be
>>round. We narrowed the question to why fleshy fruits are round and
>>thought of some possible answers. But I told him I'd put the question
>>out to you all and promised him there would be a wonderful diversity of
>>answers from proximate to ultimate.
I like the answer that fruits are spherical in cross-section because pistils
were, but there could be another reason.
Ask yourself: What shape is easiest for a seed-dispersing animal to swallow
whole?
Monique Reed
Botanist
Texas A&M University
