What you see when you see seeds floating is one of nature's most incredible processes. All seeds are little adventurers, complete with their own travel equipment, and set out on a mission to find the best location to settle down.
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Check PriceThe travel methods used by seeds may seem like they belong in a spy movie. They use hitchhiking, exploding, sailing and even hiring bodyguards. Here are seven incredible ways seeds travel and how to see them.
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1. The Parachute Club: Wind Surfing Champions
Dandelions may seem to be the most recognizable plants to undergo reproduction via wind dispersal, but actually they are just the start. Their seeds are able to catch a ride on the wind because they have small parachutes made of silky strands called pappus. With the right breeze, dandelion seeds can travel as far as 60 miles from the plant that produced them.
Maple seeds have their own take on a helicopter design. As they fall to the ground, the winged samara's spin making them catch the wind and travel far away from the parent tree. Children enjoy picking up these \\"whirlybirds\\" and each one is a perfectly designed flying machine.
2. The Hitchhiker's Guide To Seed Dispersal
Have you ever pulled burrs off of your socks after going for a hike? If so, congratulations, you assisted in helping seeds travel! Sticky weeds, burdocks, and beggar's ticks have little barbs that aid them in grabbing onto any furry or fuzzy thing that wanders past.
**Velcro and Hitchhiking Seeds**: Swiss engineer Georges de Mestral invented one of the most useful fasteners in the world after studying burr seeds. The ripping sound you hear is very similar to the sound that hitchhiking seeds make when they hitch on to clothing. Next time you hear that ripping sound, thank the seed.
3. Fruit Airlines: First Class Seed Service
A few seeds have come up with a revolutionary travel strategy to get to their destinations. They use animals, particularly those that eat their fruits, to do the traveling for them! Snacks like berries and cherries are basically taxis to transport seeds that also use advertising to attract various species with their soft and tasty flesh.
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Flying long distances helps spread apple seeds. When birds eat an apple's seeds, the seeds get stuck in the bird's droppings which act as fertilizer. This is how the birds plant the seeds and how apple trees pop up in random places.
4. The Explosive Engineers: Cannons of Nature
Seed pods that burst and shoot their seeds six feet away? Talk about living up to your name! Touch-me-not’s scientific name Impatiens says it all! These plants are impatient to spread their seeds!
Witch hazel takes an explosion to the next level. Their seed pods dry out and contract until they literally shoot seeds away. It can really be done up to 30 feet away with an audible “pop.” When you walk through a witch hazel grove in the fall, you may hear the sounds of nature’s popcorn machine!
5. The Floating Fleet: Water Taxis
Coconuts are very good at traveling, especially across the ocean! This is a vital survival skill since they need to be able to travel far to find new islands to grow on. As a protective outer layer, they have fibrous husks that serve to keep the seed safe and dry for months as they float across the ocean.
Cattail seeds are close to home as they have tiny hairs that assist in their floating ability. Like cattail seeds, lotus seeds can stay submerged for years\, but can wait thier turn for the right moment to begin the growth process. Of the lotus seeds discovered in desiccated lake beds, some have begun the germination process after 1,000 years!
6. The Professional Movers: Partnerships with Animals
Although squirrels are expert seed planters, they often lose track of where they stash their valuables. During just one season, a single squirrel can bury thousands of nuts and acorns. They lose track of about 30% of their stash. The seeds that are lost and forgotten grow into new trees.
Ants have an interesting relationship with some plants. Plants such as violets produce seeds with attachments called elaiosomes. Elaiosomes are fatty structures that ants enjoy eating. The ants take the seeds to their nests, eat the elaiosome part, and then throw the seeds into the garbage pile where the seeds can grow in nutrient-rich soil.
7. The Self-Driven Travelers: Trend DIY
Some seeds don’t wait for help from animals or the wind, and wild geraniums are a great example! Wild geranium seeds use a spring-loaded mechanism to launch themselves away from the parent plant. As the seed case dries, it creates tension that suddenly releases and coils to catapult the seed away.
Avens seeds self-propulsion is a sight to see. They have spiral appendages that, as humidity changes, can actually wind and unwine to drill themselves into the ground. It is like watching a seed bury itself in real time.
Your Backyard Seed Safari
You have the secret to make every walk outside more fun. On windy days you can look for dandelion parachutes. In the fall you may hear witch hazel pods making a popping sound. After a hike check your clothes for hitchhiking seeds.
Everywhere you look, seeds can be found. Each seed contains a blueprint for a new plant, along with a clever way to get to a new location. Next time you watch a seed float by, think about how you are watching one of the most successful stories in travel.
