EliTeaEli said

Natural Tea Plant Propagation

Hey Steepsters!

I have a question that I was researching into and wanted to post it here if anyone has any insight for the topic.

If tea plants were to not be propagated by humans how are tea plant seeds dispersed? i.e. do they roll down a hill, carried by animals, or do the monsoon winds of Asia throw things around?

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SFTGFOP said

http://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/eafrinet/weeds/key/weeds/Media/Html/Camellia_sinensis__(Tea_Plant).htm

says Animal dispersal (probably through being consumed as the seeds are quite smooth). Requires a humid environment, so I would imagine rain/water dispersal too.

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EliTeaEli said

Well if animals are the main propagators of tea seeds (naturally) what animal would it be? Tea seeds are around 1 cm in diameter.

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SFTGFOP said

haha I guess you should go into a forest and watch what eats a tea plant!

I would say a broad spectrum of herbivores. As tea is found endemic in several habitats, I doubt just one animal, or even one type of animal is responsible.

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