Biodiversity & Well-being Toolkit: Natural History Collections - 3b Nature connections: Seed dispersal - UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum

Nature connections: Seed dispersal

Many plants spread their seeds. Seed dispersal means their offspring don’t compete for their own food and water. But how do they do this, when plants can’t move?

Different plants have different ways of spreading their seeds. Some can do it themselves, while others need the help of the wind or water. Some plants rely on animals to disperse their seeds.

Mechanical dispersal

Some plants have seeds or seed pods which are a special shape to disperse themselves.

Some seed pods, like these Pigeon Peas, burst open and spread the seeds inside.

Some seeds are a shape which means they fall to the ground in a way that spreads them from their parent plant.

Wind dispersal

Lots of plants in Montserrat use the wind to spread their seeds to other areas of the island. The seeds of these plants are often very small, but with floaty threads to help them catch a breeze.

This seed was found on the beach at Little Bay. The fine threads attached to it helped it float on the wind.

These images show how a Tridax Daisy grows its fluffy seeds. The wind will carry them to grow somewhere else on the island.

Water dispersal

If you look around the beaches of Montserrat, you’ll find trees which have grown from seeds dispersed by water.

The seeds of palm trees are large and heavy, but can float for miles in the sea. If they wash up on a good bit of beach, they can grow into a new tree.

This coconut has washed up on Margarita Bay, and has started growing into a new tree.

Animal dispersal

Different animals can help plants spread their seeds in different ways.

Some plants, like Noni, have tasty fruit which tempts animals to eat them. Animals may drop bits of fruit and seed while they’re eating; these can grow into new plants.

Animals may eat the seeds up, then leave them somewhere else on the island, in a dollop of poo! This means the seed has some food to help it grow into a new plant.

Some plants have seeds that attach to animals’ fur, or people’s clothes, with hooks or burs. The seeds get carried to other places by the animals, then can grow elsewhere.