I made measurements of morphology and settling velocity on seeds of 19 species of wind-dispersed Asteraceae. From the morphological measurements I calculated Reynolds numbers and approximate plume loadings for the species. Diaspore settling velocity increases linearly with the square root of plume loading. This relationship varies among species and among subfamilies, but not among life history types. Reynolds number is highly variable among subfamilies, less so within subfamilies. Diaspores with beaked achenes have significantly lower settling velocities than diaspores with unbeaked achenes, even though beaked and unbeaked achenes do not differ in plume loading or in Reynolds number. Reynolds numbers of all diaspores examined are well above the range in which Stokes' Law applies. I recommend that the use of formulae based on Stokes' Law be curtailed in studies of the relationship between plume loading and settling velocity. The results suggest that many seed characters may have evolved due to selection on dispersal ability. This is in spite of phyletic constraints on morphology reflected in the relative uniformity of Reynolds numbers within subfamilies.
© 1993 Botanical Society of America.