A world-renowned botanist
Hidehiro Inagaki, considered one of the best writers in the field of botany, tells us
30 Fun and Informative Botanical Stories

One question.
“Why do violets flip their bodies over when their fruit ripens and fling the seeds far away?” Ironically, if the seeds fall near the parent plant, the parent plant becomes a fatal threat to the seed’s survival.
More specifically, it is because they have difficulty growing in the shade created by the lush leaves of the parent plant, are easily deprived of water and nutrients, and can become dangerous due to the chemicals emitted by the parent plant.
Two questions.
"The lucky four-leaf clover is a scar?" How do four-leaf clovers form? There are many reasons why four leaves form, but the most popular theory is that they form when the base of the leaf is damaged.
Therefore, places where people and animals frequently come and go and are 'frequently stepped on' are places where the probability of finding a four-leaf clover is relatively high.

Three questions.
“Why do the two seeds inside a cocklebur fruit sprout at different times?” Cocklebur fruits travel to unfamiliar lands by sticking to people’s clothes or animal fur, and it is not easy to determine when they should sprout in order to survive in unfamiliar lands.
For this reason, the genus Dokkomari evolved to contain both early-germinating and late-germinating seeds within its fruit.
As you read this book page by page with exquisite, beautiful, and lovely illustrations, you will be captivated by the charm of various plants that can be easily found around us, and before you know it, you will become a 'botanist in your life'.
"30 Most Interesting Botanical Stories in the World" is a book that will help build knowledge, insight, and understanding of the world of plants, not only for parents in their 30s and 40s with children still in the learning process, and for teachers, but also for elementary, middle, and high school students, while having fun reading it.
Furthermore, this book uses its extensive knowledge of plants as a stepping stone to gain wisdom and lessons for human life and to help us understand the ways of the world.

Why do plants disperse their seeds far? One reason is to expand their distribution area.
It is to expand the range of life by moving seeds to distant places.
In this way, plants thrive.
But if you think about it carefully, there is no guarantee that a seed that has set out on a long journey will sprout safely, grow, and settle in suitable soil.
But why do plants send their seeds on such long journeys? Beyond the need to expand their territory, there's another, more important reason why plant seeds embark on such reckless journeys.
This is to keep the next generation of plants as far away from the parent plant as possible.
When a seed falls near the parent plant, ironically, the parent plant becomes the biggest threat to the seed's survival.
This is because when the parent plant's leaves become lush, the newly sprouted seeds are shaded by the parent plant and cannot grow sufficiently.
Moreover, seeds also take water and nutrients from the parent plant.
Chemicals emitted by the parent plant may hinder the growth of young shoots.
--- From "The unexpectedly desperate reason why violets send their seeds far away?"

The four-leaf clover is widely known as a symbol of good luck. It is said that this originates from St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, who likened the three leaves of the clover to the trinity of 'love, hope, and faith' and then said that the fourth leaf represented 'happiness'.
Many people probably have memories of wandering around a field frantically looking for a four-leaf clover.
Hide and seek, where you search for four-leaf clovers hidden in a cluster of clovers, is a fun game for both children and adults.
The secret to finding a four-leaf clover hidden among mostly three-leaf clovers is to find a place where four leaves are likely to form, and your chances of success will increase.
There are various theories as to why four leaves appear, but the most well-known one is that they appear when the base of the leaf is damaged.
So the first secret to finding a four-leaf clover is to search places where people can easily step on it, such as roadsides or school playgrounds.
--- From "The lucky symbol 'four-leaf clover' is a scar?"

The leaves of the plantain grow flat on the ground, so that they can be less impacted when stepped on.
The large leaves look soft and smooth, but inside the leaves are five strong threads.
You can pull out these threads by tearing off the leaves and gently pulling them out.
It is flexible and strong, so it does not get crushed or crushed even when stepped on or flattened.
In order to bloom, the stem must extend, and unlike the leaves, the stem is hard on the outside and soft on the inside.
So it can change shape flexibly as it is stepped on and does not break.
It's not just about enduring a life of being trampled on.
The seeds of the plantain contain a jelly-like substance that becomes sticky when wet and can stick to people's shoes or car tires.
Just as dandelions spread their seeds on the wind, plantains spread their seeds when people step on them.
So, you can see the expansion of the power of the sedge along the road.
--- From "What is the secret to not dying even when stepped on?"

When a plant's growth is hindered by an obstacle, it stops growing rather than trying to overcome the situation.
The new poa grass does not grow taller if weeded repeatedly.
It is a mysterious providence of nature.
If you take seeds of the new sedge that grew on the golf course green and grow them, they will grow nicely.
Because they live in an environment where there is no benefit to growing up, they do not grow well.
Golf courses have courses with different grass heights, such as fairways and roughs, in addition to greens, so weeding is done at different heights for each.
If you collect newpoa grass seeds from each course and grow them, they will all hang down to the same height as when the weeding work was done.
Growth has stopped due to obstacles.
This is the survival strategy of the new poa plant.
These survival strategies can be found in other plants as well.
For example, if you pamper a flower in a pot too much, it will only grow to a cute size.
Environments that involve a lot of human intervention seem to provide stimuli that are no different from obstacles, such as weeding.
--- From “Why doesn’t the height of the cellophane plant grow when weeding is repeated?”

Baby ground beetles thrive in places with a lot of foot traffic, such as on sidewalks.
If you try to climb up, you will be crushed flat by being stepped on, so you use a strategy of growing sideways from the beginning to avoid the shock of being stepped on.
But while everyone else grows vertically, is it okay for the plant to grow horizontally? Will it receive the sunlight essential for plant survival? Since it's crawling along the ground, won't it be unable to receive enough sunlight? Of course, these are all unnecessary worries.
There aren't many plants that can grow in an environment where they are prone to being trampled.
Since there are no other plants to compete with, the baby's breath can monopolize sunlight with its leaves even when growing horizontally.
What about flowers, then? Wouldn't pollinating insects like bees and others pass by the flowers of the common ground beetle without even noticing them? Actually, there's no need to worry about that either.
This is because the baby ground beetle uses a strategy of transferring pollen to ants rather than bees or bees.
Ants move along the stems of the honeybee plant to collect nectar, and in the process, pollen that gets stuck around the ants' mouths is transferred to other places.
Ants are practical insects that gather only for the scent of honey, so there is no need to decorate them with beautiful petals to attract bees and ants like other plants.

--- From "Why is it a smart survival strategy for baby ground beetles to grow sideways?"

Inside the dokkomari fruit there are two long seeds.
Although the seeds were placed side by side, each had a different personality.
The big one is the impatient older brother who sprouts first, and the small one is the leisurely younger brother who sprouts later.
Why are seeds of different natures found together within a single fruit? The fruit of the dwarf clings to human clothing or animal fur, transporting it to unfamiliar lands.
It would have been difficult to estimate when to sprout in order to survive in the new land.
So, there are seeds that sprout quickly and seeds that sprout late.
You can't say which of two seeds with different personalities is smart and which is not.
It is a mystery of nature that the Dokkomari have survived until now thanks to their different personalities.
--- From "Why do the two seeds inside the dokkomari fruit sprout at different times?"

There are many different ways to stick.
Some have hook-shaped thorns, while others stick like Velcro, commonly called hook-and-loop fasteners, and each type sticks in a different way.
After passing through the grass, you have a hard time removing the goblin needles that are stuck to your clothes.
However, the annoyingly stubborn goblin needles that were hard to come off, miraculously fall off on their own if left alone.
The providence of nature is mysterious.
The goblin's needle is something that has stuck to your clothes in preparation for a journey to a new land, so if it continues to hang on, it will never be able to take root in the ground and will never be able to sprout.
So, the goblin needle has evolved to adjust its strength appropriately so that it can stick tightly or fall off naturally over time.
For example, the seeds of the hairy goblin needle stick to clothes with needles that look like fish harpoons, but these needles are brittle and fall off over time.

--- From "Why do the goblin needle seeds stuck to people's clothes fall off on their own over time?"