A reflection on seeds that have the ability to fly and are found in urban environments

Abstract

This article is a reflection on the seeds of two trees from the Atlantic Forest (ipê and paineira de praia) that have the ability to fly and are found in urban environments. The ability of seeds to be dispersed by wind, whether due to their shape (wings) or due to the characteristics of the material, are the result of a method of copying nature that depend on the constant interaction between the organism and the environment. Trees have developed an ingenuity to guarantee their perpetuation in the natural environment in stages of seeds, seedlings and young trees. Trees placed for urban afforestation or landscaping create problems with electrical wiring, cracks in the sidewalk and prevent the dispersion of seeds in the soil, being scattered on the asphalt. The trees mentioned in this article aim to ensure descent through the wind as a resource that is unused and wasted when placed in urban environments. The article presents the characteristics of the seeds and a particular action in the domestic environment to perpetuate the stages of seeds, seedlings and the possibility of becoming trees.