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Published online 3 March 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.639
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Weed's seeds evolve quickly in the city
Plants have become more likely to drop seeds into their home patch of ground.
Urbanization is forcing plants to evolve quickly, but their form of evolution could ultimately put them in danger of dying out.
The daisy-like annual weed Crepis sancta has two types of seed — big, heavy ones that tend to drop straight down, and light, floaty ones that can be caught on the wind and spread farther afield.
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