Comments on: What kind of fruit is this?

Question: What kind of fruit is this?

stlboi — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:07:44 -0800

What kind of fruit is this?

My BIO100 lab teacher offered extra credit if I can email her the answer. I've looked around the internets, but can not find a match. Any ideas?

http://gallery.me.com/timothyevans#100141&bgcolor=black&view=grid

By: kuujjuarapik

kuujjuarapik — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:22:32 -0800

Could be Manila Tamarind.

By: cabingirl

cabingirl — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:30:46 -0800

Looks like Screwbean Mesquite.

By: bradly

bradly — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:36:23 -0800

Nthing cabingirl. It's a member of the legume family, for the record.

By: kuujjuarapik

kuujjuarapik — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:41:03 -0800

Cabingirl has it. Definitely not a tamarind.

By: jamjam

jamjam — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 18:53:53 -0800

Amazing how much those screwbean pods look like rattlesnake rattles-- and rattlesnakes are also natives of the screwbean habitat.

The only adaptive explanation that occurs to me is that it might make rodents more reluctant to approach and eat the seeds. Hmm, the seeds rattle when ripe, too. That might make the tree frightening to rodents in the least breeze, also possibly leading to increased seed survival.