Flowering plants produce seeds which need appropriate conditions in which to germinate. These conditions are often away from the parent plant so that the competition for the conditions present in that location, or for particular nutrients, is reduced. This is achieved in a number of different ways.
- Animal dispersal: many seeds are contained in fruits and berries that are eaten by birds and animals. These birds and animals then move around and, as they do so, the seeds are passed out of their bodies as waste.
- Explosive dispersal: some plants have mechanisms that allow them to disperse their seeds through a tiny ‘explosion’. Peas, for example, have seeds inside pods that dry out and then burst open spilling their contents away from the parent plant.
- Fire dispersal: some plants have evolved to take advantage of forest fires (e.g. Australian banksia and grasses). The fire heats up the very tough seed heads which pop open and eject their seeds into the cooling, fertile ash.
- Water dispersal: some plants have seeds which are dropped from the plant onto water. The seeds float and are carried along until coming to ground where they can begin to germinate.
- Wind dispersal: many flowering plants, such as the dandelion, produce seeds with light feathery attachments. When the time is right, these are blown away by the wind to germinate.
