Botanical Nerd Word: Diaspore

Close-up of pumpkin seeds

Diaspore: the smallest unit of seed dispersal in plants. Diaspores can be seeds, fruitlets of compound or schizocarpic fruits, entire fruits or seedlings (e.g. in mangroves).*

 

*Kesseler, R. & Stuppy, W. (2006). Seeds: Time capsules of life. Buffalo: Firefly Books.