How Are the Seeds of Orange Trees Scattered by the Oranges?

Dropped Fruit

During the growth cycle and particularly at the end of the harvest time for a given tree, the orange tree drops the fruit that has not yet been picked. As it lays on the ground surrounding the tree the fruit continues to ripen until it begins to decay. This ripe and then decaying fruit is an attractant to animals and can also ferment and burst open, disgorging the seeds. These seeds can be buried in surrounding soil or transported to another place by any number of means.

Animal Assistance

When the oranges fall to the ground, particularly ripe and decaying oranges, they attract wildlife including raccoons, possums and birds. As the animals paw at the fruit and eat it, the seeds can get dropped into the soil or consumed by the animals. As the animals move to a new area they carry the orange seeds with them until they are eliminated along with their bodily waste. So seeds can travel great distances and be widely deposited, before taking root or being exposed to elements such as animals or weather, which helps them travel further.

Assistance of the Elements

Orange seeds, however they are deposited in a place, either by animal, human or decay, can be spread by the wind and other weather, such as runoff from thunderstorms. When orange seeds are exposed to the elements they begin to desiccate and, in losing a significant amount of their moisture content, they become lighter in weight and more easily transported about by weather elements.

Human Consumption Habits

Prepared orange juice is a very popular beverage and the large scale operations that process and package it leave mountains of pith, seed and skin waste that are placed in landfills where the seeds can be accessed by animals and are exposed to the elements and can be moved. Also, occasionally when a person eats an orange in its whole fruit state he may ingest a seed or two, or more. These seeds travel through the human body, are not digested and are excreted as waste. This waste is treated and the solids that remain often go to landfills where the waste is dried and can become airborne or picked up by birds or other animals and travel again.