Seed dispersal

1. Seed dispersal How do plants reproduce?

2. Acorns fall from the tree and sprout • If they are not destroyed by animals, white oak acorns can sprout rapidly after falling from the tree. 

3. Animal dispersal by hooked fruits • Some species of plant use hooks on their fruits to attach themselves to the fur of mammals or feathers of birds

4. Animal burial • Hard nuts are usually destroyed if chewed or eaten.  • However, animals such as squirrels may store them to eat later and forget to go back to get them, giving them a chance to germinate.  • On rare occasions, birds such as blue jays can transport acorns long distances.

5. Soft fruit dispersal • Fleshy fruits • The seeds of many plants are dispersed after passing through the digestive system of animals that have eaten the fleshy fruits. 

6. Wind dispersal • Some plants, such as the dandelion, have seeds that act as parachutes, which are carried away by the wind

7. Plantlet reproduction • Spider plants, amongst others, send out stems which produce plantlets, these baby plants then try to root themselves

8. Spinning dispersal • Maple fruits are winged, two-seeded pods.  They spin like helicopters as they fall from the tree, providing a longer time for dispersal by wind.