A simple and affordable protocol to assess censer seed dispersal: First confirmation of the mechanism in the genus Solanum

Abstract Premise The censer seed dispersal mechanism, whereby mature fruits are retained on plants and seeds dispersed by mechanical shaking, is among the most specialized wind‐aided seed dispersal strategies employed by the flowering plants. An efficient, affordable, and easily repeatable protocol for determining whether a species uses this unusual mechanism of seed dispersal is lacking. Our focal species, Solanum tudununggae , is one of just two Solanum species (in a fleshy‐fruited genus of ca. 1200 species) hypothesized to use this dispersal mechanism as a means to move seeds farther from parent plants than would gravity alone. Methods and Results Live greenhouse plants were systematically shaken using a hand pulling technique. The proportion of seeds released and the distance of their movement were recorded and assessed using tools such as organza bags, bed sheets, a smartphone, ImageJ software, and a set of simple calculations. The results from this mentored undergraduate research project demonstrate that the protocol effectively identifies the use of the censer mechanism in S. tudununggae and quantifies its seed dispersal effectiveness. Conclusions The findings indicate that this protocol has confirmed experimentally, for the first time, the presence and effectiveness of the censer mechanism in the large and economically important genus Solanum . We believe that this protocol is useful for other taxa with similarly elongated and flexible growth habits.