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Year 5A have been studying seed dispersal for Science this term. We watched David Attenborough's "Private Life of Plants" and the children took notes from the video. They then wrote a report on Seed Dispersal from their notes and most did an excellent job of it!! Here is a report by Chris. Seeds are produced by plants as a means of reproducing that plant. Plants find many ways to disperse their seeds to give them the best chance of germinating and growing. There are five mains ways that plants disperse their seeds: WIND DISPERSAL: Fungi are not really plants but they still have seeds. The Fungi seeds are microscopic and are called spores. Fungi disposes of its seeds in a dust cloud. When water falls on the puff balls, the spores erupt in a puff of smoke. When Dandelions die, they turn into a small, white fluffy globe and within the globe are around 200 seeds, each with their own miniature parachute. When the wind comes, the seeds are carried for miles. The Cottonwood tree disposes of its seed by producing fluff which the wind carries. Within the fluff are hundreds of seeds which are practically weightless. SPECIAL STRUCTURES: Sycamore seeds are diposed of by a sort of miniature helicopter. The helicopter is actually a small leaf in which the seed is carried safely to the ground. The Squirting Cucumber disperses its seeds by squirting them out when they come in contact with water like rain. The Himalayan Balsam flings its seeds with a great force so that they will travel far away from the original plant so that they are not seen growing close together. WATER DISPERSAL: LIVING CREATURES: Humans step on prickles with seeds in them which are moved away as the humans move. Seeds like Cobblers Pegs stick on clothing and are brushed off in other places. Ants find seeds still in the pod and take them to their nest. It is then given to the larvae which eat the pod and leave the seed in their underground nest. The seed is left there for a while and during that time they start to grow. Birds usually eat the blackberries and drop the seeds or like the Cassowary, step on seeds that stick to their feet until they lose their grip and fall off. The African Elephant eats the Acacia plant and helps to disperse the seeds by shaking the trees. When the elephant eats the seeds, they find a fertile home in the elephant's droppings. The Agouti is the only animal that can crack the outer casing of the Brazil Nut and it helps to disperse and germinate the seeds by cracking the shell. The Alpine Nut Cracker eats pine cone seeds and it usually buries what it doesn't eat. When it forgets where it has buried them the seeds then have a chance to grow. OTHER ADAPTATIONS: The Cassowary eats many differnet types of fruits from which it eats the flesh and then it spits the seeds out. The Durian is a plant that is really smelly and animals of all sorts like the Orangutan come to eat it. As it is broken open all the seeds just tumble out. The Proteas depend on fires to burn the seed pod and release its seeds. The seeds are stored on stalks inside the pod. As you can see, there are many ways for seeds to be dispersed. These are just a few of the many different, interesting ways. Click here to return to Rochedale State School's Page. |
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