Seeds appear to be static objects, but as Scott explain, many are intrepid little voyagers.
Mobile seeds are key to the survival of the species. (Courtesy Martin Kenny)
It’s almost gardening season and I bet many of you already have your seeds. Have you ever thought how miraculous it is that an entire garden of flowers and veggies can fit in a small box of seed packets on your kitchen counter?
Technically, a seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective covering, usually with some stored food. We don’t think of plants as being mobile, but all plants must move at some point in their lives so they don’t compete with each other for food and sunlight. Often these trips are taken as seeds. Sometimes the journey is a few feet away from the parent, but some seeds, such as coconuts, may cross oceans.
The trip might take a moment, or it may take years, so to conserve resources, the seed remains inactive until conditions are just right for sprouting. Essentially, a seed is a sleeping baby plant, traveling in a protective ship with a picnic lunch. Of course, seeds cannot move on their own, so they must enlist help. Dandelions travel on the wind, coconuts on water; others use birds and animals, even us, to get around. Eventually, with good luck, the seed ends up in a perfect spot to begin life as an adult plant.
In general, a seed requires the right light, temperature and moisture levels to germinate. But, it takes a lot of energy to grow, and baby plants can’t produce energy until their roots and leaves are working. So they survive on the food that was packed in the seed until they are big enough to set up shop and begin photosynthesizing on their own.
