Gum is a sap or other resinous material associated with certain species of the plant kingdom. This material is often polysaccharide-based and most frequently is associated with woody plants, particularly under the bark or as a seed coating. The polysaccharide material is typically of high molecular weight and most often highly hydrophilic[1] or hydrocolloidal.
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As seed coating
Many gums occur as seed coatings for plant species; the adaptive purpose of some of these gummy coatings is to create a time delayed germination of certain flora seeds. An example of such a gummy coating occurs in the case of Western poison oak, a widespread shrub in western North America.[2]
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References
- Monika J. A. Schröder (2003) Food Quality and Consumer Value: Delivering Food that Satisfies, Springer, 330 pages ISBN 3540439145
- C.Michael Hogan (2008) "Western poison-oak: Toxicodendron diversilobum", GlobalTwitcher, ed. Nicklas Strömberg
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