I heard the coolest thing the other day. Please don't judge me by the fact that I think this is cool, but do read on. We were in Plant Ecology class (I'm the TA), learning about seed dispersal (don't stop reading--it does get better!!). If you know anything about plants, you know that they actually do respond to the environment in a fairly sensitive manner, primarily because they are sessile (can't move) and need to be able to 'know' when conditions are favorable to germinate, grow, flower, set seed, etc. One of the most important of these is germination because once a seed germinates, it is irreversibly stuck in 'grow or die' mode. So this is a sensitive process.
A lot of things can cue a seed in to what kind of conditions it is in--the enzyme phytochrome detects the quality of light (can tell the seed if it is covered by other plants and would be shaded if it were to germinate now); some seeds germinate after a fire (also a good chance that any competitors are laid to waste); many seeds require a several week or month cold treatment, after which they assume that spring is now here and thus it is safe to germinate. Not bad for a non-metabolizing packet of oils, carbs, and proteins, huh?
Anyway, the smartest (or most interesting to me) adaptation that some seeds have developed is that they need to go through an incredibly acidic environment (think: concentrated sulfuric acid or so) before they will germinate. Considering the number of sulfuric acid pools out in nature, this seems somewhat odd. However, the one spot where these conditions may persist are in an animal's gut. Why adapt so that you'll germinate only after you've gone through an animal's gut? Because when you get pooped out, you're plopped right down in the middle of some of the best fertilizer around! There is one catch, however. You don't want to end up in some constipated beast who is plugged up, because your seed coat is not THAT resistant to acid. So to 'move things along' more rapidly, the seeds that have this adaptation often also are surrounded by fruits with natural laxatives to ensure safe, happy, and rapid transit through the animal's gut. Prunes and cherries are good examples of seeds where this is the case.

Aren't you just so happy you read this? Doesn't it make your day that peachier? (Peaches might be the same way--I'd have to look it up...) I think it's pretty cool, and that's all that matters for now, 'cuz it's my blog. Now I'm sure I've gotten you all incredibly interested in biology, but I would not recommend grad school. Not yet. For now, just stay tuned for other quick lessons on giraffes with support hose, P-proteins, and sausage-like guard cells. I would write more from plant ecology class, but today we discussed the physics of water, and a blog on that would certainly put a damper on things.