The Hidden Beauty of Seeds and Fruits (2D)

The Hidden Beauty of Seeds and Fruits Exhibition

See the carpology collection of the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh like never before.

Photographer Levon Biss painstakingly examined 3,500 historical specimens to select just 81 for inclusion in the exhibition, highlighting those with the most striking evolutionary adaptations and stories.

Many of the specimens date back to the early 19th Century and were collected by the pioneering botanists of their time, including those on the Challenger Expedition in 1872.

The images allow the audience to appreciate and study these tiny specimens in levels of detail normally only available with the use of microscopes.

The fruit of the water chestnut is edible. As a useful source of starch and fat, it can be dried and ground into flour. It is therefore widely cultivated in the tropics and in India it is called singhara. It also has the name ‘water caltrops’, because its single-seeded fruits resemble the spiky metal devices scattered on the ground to pierce the hooves of an enemy’s horse in medieval times. The spines develop from two or more of the four corners of the fruit. The form with two spines was described in 1815 by William Roxburgh from a specimen from India and given the name Trapa bispinosa. It is now recognized as a variety.
© Levon Biss

This is a large tree growing up to 50 m (164 ft) tall, often with a silvery smooth bark with warty projections. The distinctive shape of the fruit gives the genus its name, Pterocymbium (Greek for ‘winged boot’). The wing of the fruit is red on the outside and green-golden on the inside when fresh, becoming brown then black and papery when dry and ready for the seeds to be released for wind dispersal. The single-seeded fruits usually hang in clumps of five. The bark is a source of fiber for rope making. It is also used in dyeing cloth; the specific epithet, tinctorium, reflects this.
© Levon Biss

The common name of this species reflects its flowers’ resemblance to Meerschaum pipes. It is a vigorous climber with large, heart-shaped leaves and small brown and cream flowers which are pollinated by insects. Aristolochia flowers attract insect pollinators by emitting a notoriously unpleasant smell of rotting meat, and that of Aristolochia macrophylla flowers is the worst of all! The fruits, which have the appearance of parachutes, split into six segments to release the flat, wind-dispersed seeds. This species is a host for the pipevine swallowtail butterfly (Battus philenor). The butterflies feed on the flower nectar, and their caterpillars on the leaves.
© Levon Biss

This shrub is endemic to the Cerrado of Brazil, a fire-dominated grassland ecosystem that rivals the Amazon in terms of species richness. The Portuguese name for this species, mandioquinha do campo, translates as ‘field manioc.’ This is confusing because it is not the true manioc; that would be Manihot esculenta, from a different genus. However, the name shows a recognition that Zeyheria montana is a wild plant that looks like its cultivated near namesake. Another name for it is bolsa de pastor, inspired by the resemblance of the pod to a bag once used by shepherds. The pod splits in half longitudinally to release its many wind-dispersed seeds.
© Levon Biss

A small tree typical of the savannahs and dry forests of South America, this species has had a huge variety of uses ascribed to it. German botanist Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius recorded its use by the peoples of the Amazon region to treat syphilis, hence the scientific name. The wood is reported to be used for building boats and is also soaked in water to produce a blue dye for ‘purifying’ the blood in traditional medicine. Cybistax antisyphilitica has an inconspicuous appearance but can be recognized by its green flowers (extremely unusual for the plant family Bignoniaceae) and oblong fruits with 12 prominent longitudinal ribs. Packed inside each fruit are winged seeds.
© Levon Biss

This is an emergent tree: growing up to 60 m (200 ft) in height, it is able to rise above the rain forest canopy. The species is endemic to the island of Borneo. The name of the family to which it belongs, Dipterocarpaceae, derives from the Greek words di(‘two’), pteron (‘wing’) and karpos (‘fruit’), although many species have a different number of wings. The wings—relatively small in Shorea fallax—facilitate wind dispersal of the seeds, enabling them to fall in a helicopter motion away from the parent tree. The Malay name, seraya duan kasar, translates as ‘the leaves are coarse’. The wood is traded as a commercial timber under the name meranti.
© Levon Biss

Like its near relative the cultivated pear (Pyrus communis), the fruits of Pyrus pashia owe their distinctive gritty texture to the presence of stone cells. These specialized cells with extra-thick walls are present in clusters throughout the flesh of the fruit as well as in its skin. This fruit is grittier than that of other Pyrus species; it is edible when bletted, as the sour flesh becomes sweet when half rotten. Juice from the fruit is used locally as a medicine for animals and people. This small tree is found throughout the Himalayas, including Nepal, where the leaves are cut for fodder and the wood used to make walking sticks. RBGE is working with Nepali partners on projects supporting the effective management of Nepal’s plant resources, promoting their conservation and enhancing sustainable livelihoods.
© Levon Biss

This specimen was prepared from one of several ripe fruits found under a tree in dense forest close to the border between the Central African Republic and the Republic of the Congo. When he found the tree, the collector, David Harris, knew two things immediately. First, that he had never seen this species before; and second, that the fruit must appeal to elephants. Its yeasty smell and mealy texture were reminiscent of other elephant-dispersed fruit, and he could think of no other animal able to ingest a stone of that size. Having taken the fruits back to camp to prepare dried specimens, he realized that their soft flesh would be unlikely to dry fully in the humidity of the rain forest. He decided instead to put one under a tap to wash away the pulp, which left behind this curious network of fibers.
© Levon Biss

This plant is related to Ficus carica, cultivated in Mediterranean countries for its edible fruit. However, unlike that species, which is a small tree, Ficus sansibarica is a strangler; it attaches itself to a big tree and uses it for support. The ripe fruit is eaten by chimpanzees and the seeds are carried in their digestive system until being deposited at a distance from the parent plant. This specimen was collected by botanist and former RBGE student Sydney Ndolo Ebika, who observed chimpanzees feeding on it in the forest at Goualougo in the Republic of the Congo. The species is widespread across tropical Africa, but at this particular site individual plants are extremely rare. Therefore, primatologists suggest that chimpanzees are either very good at finding fruiting individuals or that they remember their location from previous visits.
© Levon Biss

In this variety of the water chestnut, spines are developed from all four corners of the fruit, though with one pair longer than the other (in India it was therefore known to William Roxburgh as Trapa quadrispinosa). The fruit is ‘indehiscent,’ that is, its walls do not break open to release the seed, but gradually break down by decay or physical damage. The plant is a floating aquatic and the fruit sinks to the bottom of the pond, lake, or flooded field, where the seed within it can remain viable for up to 12 years.
© Levon Biss

Using his photo stacking techniques and bespoke camera system, Levon is able to capture unprecedented levels of detail from specimens far too small to view with the naked eye, providing us with an insight into an unseen world. The resulting body of work is guaranteed to entertain and educate audiences of all ages.

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Our 2D panel exhibitions are delivered digitally and are designed to be flexible for display in spaces of various sizes and layouts.

Flexible size (350-420 linear feet)
Digital delivery
Package includes 81 high resolution images and captions and 3 informational panels.

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The American Museum of Natural History's 2D panel exhibitions are ideal for displaying in museums, science centers, libraries, and other indoor or outdoor spaces. Contact us to learn more about renting this exhibition.

The Hidden Beauty of Seeds and Fruits: The botanical photography of Levon Biss from the collection of The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

The Hidden Beauty of Seeds and Fruits (2D)

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