Seeds on the Breeze
Seeds on the Breeze
Have you ever seen a dandelion and blown its fluffy seeds into the wind? That's one way plants spread their seeds! It's called seed dispersal, and the wind is a super helper.
Why Seeds Travel
Plants can't walk around like us. So, they need clever ways to send their seeds to new places. If all the seeds fell right under the parent plant, there wouldn't be enough room for them to grow. They would all be fighting for sunlight, water, and nutrients. Seed dispersal helps seeds find better spots to grow.
How Wind Helps
The wind is a fantastic way to travel! Some seeds are tiny and light, like dandelion seeds. Others have special shapes, like wings or parachutes, that help them float. Think about a maple seed. It spins like a helicopter when it falls! This spinning slows it down and helps the wind carry it farther away.
Examples of Wind-Dispersed Seeds:
- Dandelions: These have fluffy, white parachutes that catch the wind.
- Maple Trees: Their seeds have wing-like shapes that spin.
- Cottonwood Trees: They have tiny seeds covered in cottony fluff.
- Milkweed: Similar to dandelions, milkweed seeds have silky hairs for floating.
Other Ways Seeds Travel
- Seed Dispersal:
- The way plants spread their seeds to new places.
- Nutrients:
- Things in the soil that help plants grow, like vitamins and minerals.
- sunlight:
- The natural light that comes from the sun, which plants need to produce energy and grow.
- parent plant:
- The adult plant that produces seeds to make new young plants.
- milkweed:
- A type of plant whose seeds have silky hairs that allow them to float in the wind.
- parachutes:
- Light, umbrella-like parts of some seeds that catch the air to help them float gently on the wind.
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1What is seed dispersal?
- 2Why is seed dispersal important for plants?
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About this informational passage for Upper Elementary
“Seeds on the Breeze” is a informational reading passage about Seed Dispersal, written for Upper Elementary. It takes about 2 minutes to read (267 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.