2006/06/23 by Soumya Prasad, Jagdish Krishnaswamy, Ravi Chellam +1 · 37 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · Medicine · #Agroforestry #Agronomy #Biological dispersal #Biology #Botany #Dry matter #Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies #Food science #Germination #Medicine #Pasture #Phyllanthus emblica #Plant Parasitism and Resistance #Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology #Rumen #Ruminant #Seed dispersal #Traditional medicine
paper · doi:10.1111/j.1744-7429.2006.00182.x
published in Biotropica 38(5), 679-682 (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 2006/06/23 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25
ABSTRACT Ruminant‐mediated seed dispersal, an understudied process in tropical forests, was examined via Phyllanthus emblica–Axis axis interaction. A captive Axis deer regurgitated intact P. emblica seeds after retaining them in the rumen for 7–27 h. At Rajaji National Park, a considerable fraction (22%) of deer‐regurgitated P. emblica seeds germinated, although lower than unconsumed seeds (72%). The size and strength of seeds like P. emblica might ensure that ruminants regurgitate them intact instead of defecating them.