|
Bidgee-widgee
Bidgee-widgee - Acaena
novae-zelandiae
|
 |
 |
|
|
Bb
|
Bidgee-widgees are small plants that grow on disturbed ground, sometimes in very large numbers. The most noticeable thing about them is the marble-sized, spiny balls that form at the end of the stems after the plant has finished flowering. These are the Bidgee-widgee seeds and each individual seed has a long, red, hook-tipped spine. The purpose of these spines is to hook on to the fur or feathers of passing animals, who will then carry the seeds to another place so that new plants can become established.
One of the frustrating things about Bidgee-widgees is that even though their seeds are designed to hook onto fur and feathers the things they attach most easily to are socks. Anyone who has walked through a patch of them will know that they have to spend the next ten minutes or more pulling out the spines.
|
|
