I remember reading that some trees purposely create non viable seeds in great numbers. The theory is it makes it energy inefficient for animals to sort through the chaff searching for viable seeds to eat.
One princess tree (also called empress tree) will drop tens or hundreds of thousands of seeds every year, of which most usually zero will grow into a new tree.
These trees are valued for furniture in Asia, but are invasive pests elsewhere, yet are still promoted by plant nurseries.
