Flowering Plants' Secret Weapon

Seeds


Wild leek
Flattened seeds float easily on the wind and they often have a textured surface that may help them lodge in soil when they land.


Stickseed
Barbed spikes harpoon the fur or skin of a passing animal to ensure transport to a new setting. The amazing sticking power of such hitchhiking seeds inspired engineer and amateur mountaineer George de Mastral to invent Velcro.


Yellow floating heart
Flat and water-repellent, the seed has a border of stiff hairs that help it stay afloat and stick to the feathers of waterbirds.


Yellow Star of Bethlehem
An array of spikes on the seed may help it catch a ride on the wind. This image, like all the electron micrographs in this gallery, is in false color.


Larkspur
The papery fringe that wraps around the seed helps it ride the wind. Other windborne seeds have wings that cause them to flutter or spin to the ground, potentially drifting farther from the tree.


Yellow cape cowslip
The hollow protuberance on the right may help the seed float in wind or water, or it may attract ants to carry the seed away.


Sand milkwort
The protein-rich tidbit at the base of the seed - the elaiosome - attracts ants that nibble the seed and carry it off a short distance.


Wasp nest


Yellow owl's clover
Wind-dispersed seeds often have a honeycomb texture. The pattern maximises structural stability in the thin seed coats.
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