時(shí)差N小時(shí):果實(shí)成熟(上)

　　Usually a green, sour fruit is just afruit that’s not ripe yet. If you left a lime on the tree longer would it eventually change colorand become sweet, like an orange? Actually, limes do become much more yellow and less souras they ripen. Under ripe limes are darker green and quite bitter. There are other clues to theirripeness too. Ripe limes are heavy with juice and more aromatic, with a fragrant “limey”smell. Most fruits we eat use similar cues to advertise ripeness.But why? Why would plantswant parts of them to be eaten? Fruiting plants have evolved a partnership with certainanimals in order to increase the success of their seeds. Tasty fruit pulp is the reward plantsoffer to animals in exchange for dispersing their seeds.

　　通常，一個(gè)綠色、酸味的水果還沒(méi)成熟。如果你將酸橙留在樹(shù)上，它最終會(huì)改變顏色，口味變甜嗎?就像桔子那樣嗎?其實(shí)，酸橙成熟時(shí)確實(shí)變得更加黃，味道也不那么酸了。未成熟時(shí)，顏色變得深綠，味道也更苦。成熟也可其他方面看出來(lái)，成熟的酸橙果汁飽滿，氣味更芳香味。大部分我們吃的水果使用類似的方面來(lái)鑒定成熟度。d但是為什么?植物為什么會(huì)希望其中自身的一部分被吃掉?結(jié)果的植物進(jìn)已經(jīng)進(jìn)化成與某些動(dòng)物的關(guān)系來(lái)增加其種子的存活率。可口的水果是獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)動(dòng)物們散播種子的回報(bào)。