Which plants spread their seeds? An introduction to common types

Reproducing offspring is not only one of the life activities of animals; plants are the same. Plants have many ways of spreading their own seeds, and many plants can spread their seeds all over the world without spending time and effort themselves. Which plants spread their seeds?

1. Wind dispersal

There are many plants that rely on wind to spread their seeds, such as dandelion, willow, poplar, pine and so on. After these plants mature, their seeds are blown by the wind to other places, and if the environment is suitable, they will germinate and grow.

2. Sun dispersal

Plants that rely on the sun to spread their seeds include garden balsam, pea, wood sorrel, chestnut, squirting cucumber, soybean, hemp, plants of the cruciferous family and so on. The fruit of garden balsam bursts open when dried by the sun and then flings the seeds in all directions. The pods of peas explode under the sun's strong exposure, and the beans inside the pods jump away. The fruit of the squirting cucumber, once ripe, squirts out its seeds when exposed to the sun.

3. Water dispersal

Plants that rely on water to spread their seeds include coconut, water lily and so on. The fruit of the coconut palm falls from the tree after ripening and drifts far away with the seawater. When the tide washes it onto an island, a new coconut palm will grow on the shore. The fruit of the water lily falls into the water after ripening and slowly rots, and the seeds wrapped in a spongy outer seed coat float up and drift to other places, finally sinking to the bottom to take root and germinate.

4. Animal dispersal

Many plants make their fruits delicious and nutritious to attract animals to eat them, but the seeds in the fruit are difficult to digest, so they are spread in all directions along with the animals; other plants make their seeds attach to animals, such as cocklebur.