Discover the clever ways seeds travel far from their parent plant, and what every seed needs before it can grow.
Seeds cannot walk, but they still travel far from their parent plant. Wind carries light, feathery seeds like those of the dandelion. Water carries seeds like coconuts across rivers and oceans. Animals carry sticky or spiny seeds on their fur, or eat fruit and drop the seeds elsewhere.
How does a coconut seed usually travel to a new place?
By floating on water
How do spiny or sticky seeds, like those of the burr plant, usually travel?
By sticking to the fur of passing animals
For a seed to germinate (start growing into a new plant), it needs three main things: water, air, and warmth. Without these, a seed can stay dormant, sometimes for a very long time.
Name the three things a seed needs to germinate.
Water, air, and warmth
What does the word "germinate" mean?
To begin growing into a new plant
1. Name one way seeds can travel away from the parent plant.
2. What three things does a seed need to germinate?
3. Why are dandelion seeds light and feathery?
4. How do animals sometimes help spread seeds after eating fruit?
5. Why is it useful for a plant if its seeds travel far away, rather than falling right beneath it?