A Brilliant Strategy exemplified by a Neotropical Legume

Ice cream bean (Inga edulis) volunteers all over disturbed areas in the neotropics. It's a common snack, ready-to-wear and sold in markets, but the seeds are not tasty, only the pulp around them is, so they are discarded on road sides, where they germinate and then become trees. A very adaptive strategy for a plant, using humans to disperse its seeds.

It can be a hard one to grow in the wrong climate. It requires temps between 65-85° F (18-29 C) and ample humidity. I tried to grow it in South Texas, and it struggled for a year before dying, either from arid heat or prolonged chill during the month or two of temps below 50° F