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Plants moving without moving

How Do Seeds Travel?

Plants cannot walk, so seeds hitch rides on wind, water, animals and springs.

1 A seed mustleave home2 Wind, water,animal orspring3 It growssomewhere new
Four strategies for a plant that cannot walk.

  1. Step 1 of 5

    Landing under the parent is a death sentence.

    Falls beneath the parent Shaded and outcompetedLands somewhere new Its own light and water

    The parent already takes the light, water and nutrients there. A seed that drops straight down is competing with a much bigger plant.

  2. Step 2 of 5

    Wind carries the light ones.

    A light wingedseed Carried far on abreeze

    Dandelion parachutes and sycamore wings slow the fall so a breeze can take them. They must be tiny, which means very little food packed in.

  3. Step 3 of 5

    Fruit pays animals to do it.

    1 Sweet fruitattracts ananimal2 Carried awayand eaten3 Dropped faroff, withfertiliser

    Sweet flesh is a bribe. The animal eats the fruit, walks away, and deposits the seed elsewhere with a supply of fertiliser.

  4. Step 4 of 5

    Some hook a lift instead.

    Fruit Animal is paid withfoodBurr Animal gets nothing —pure hitchhiking

    Burrs have hooks that grip fur and socks. The animal gets nothing at all — this is a pure free ride, and often a long one.

  5. Step 5 of 5

    A few launch themselves.

    1 The pod driesand buildstension2 It snaps open3 Seeds flungseveral metres

    Some pods dry out unevenly until tension snaps them open, flinging seeds metres away. It is short-range, but it needs no outside help.

    Velcro was invented after an engineer examined the burrs stuck to his dog under a microscope.

The short version

Seeds travel by wind, water, animal or spring-loaded launch, because landing under the parent means losing.

Try it yourself

Walk through long grass in wool socks, then check them. Every stuck seed just used you as transport.

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