Wind dispersal
Light seeds with wings or fluff (like dandelion or maple) ride the wind to new places.
Animal dispersal
Animals eat juicy fruits and drop seeds in their poo far away. Sticky seeds (like burrs) hitch a ride on fur.
Water dispersal
Some seeds, like coconuts, float across oceans to new shores.
Explosion!
Some plants (like the squirting cucumber) pop their seed pods open and fling seeds away.
🔑 Key Terms
- Dispersal
- Spreading seeds away from the parent plant.
- Burr
- A spiky seed that sticks to animal fur or clothes.
Did you know?
A coconut seed can float for over 4,500 km across the sea and still grow into a tree!
Try it at home: Sticky seed test
- Take an old sock and walk through tall grass.
- Look at the sock — count the seeds and burrs stuck to it.
- You just dispersed seeds like an animal would!