How seeds travel away from the parent plant
Biology · Key Stage 2 · The School
Why seeds need to travel
If a seed just fell straight down, it would grow right next to its parent plant. There, it would compete with the parent for light, water and space. Seeds that travel further away have a better chance of finding room to grow. A plant cannot walk, so it needs another way to spread out. Plants have found several very clever ways to solve this problem.
Wind and animals
Some seeds have wings or fluff, so the WIND can carry them far away. A dandelion seed floats on the breeze like this. Other seeds hitch a ride on ANIMALS. A burr with hooks catches in fur and drops off somewhere new. Neither method costs the plant any extra energy to use.
Water and being eaten
Some seeds float, so WATER carries them downstream or along a coast. A coconut can float across the sea this way. Other seeds sit inside tasty fruit. An animal eats the fruit, and the seed passes through and comes out somewhere else entirely. That seed even arrives with a small amount of natural fertiliser.
A dandelion seed has a fluffy parachute. It travels on the WIND. A burr is covered in tiny hooks. It travels by catching onto an ANIMAL's fur. A coconut has a hard, light shell. It travels by floating on WATER. A cherry seed sits inside sweet fruit. It travels inside an animal that eats the fruit, and is later dropped somewhere new. Four seeds, four very different journeys, each one suited exactly to how that seed is shaped.