Pollination and Seed Dispersal

Pollen is a powdery substance found inside of flowers that is needed to make seeds.

An animal that moves pollen from one flower to another. Bees, butterflies and birds are examples of pollinators.

Some animals carry seeds stuck to their fur. Other animals eat fruit which has seeds inside and then they poop out the seeds somewhere else.

Both water and wind can move seeds. A coconut can float in the ocean and a dandelion uses wind to move seeds.

They need their seeds to grow in new places. It might be too shady right where a seed would fall from a plant. Plants can’t walk or move from place to place.

Some seeds float on water and move from place to place. A coconut is a common example. Other kinds of seeds can float and move in a river or a lake.

Pollen sticks to the bee while it drinks nectar and when the bee travels to another plant to drink more nectar, some of the pollen rubs off.

Some seeds stick to the animal’s fur. When the animal moves to another area, the seeds could fall off when the animal scratches or rubs against something.

Bees, birds and butterflies. Anything that moves pollen from one place to another is a pollinator.

It may not get enough sunlight since other plants and the parent tree might be blocking the light. There might also be roots growing in that spot and using up most of the water in that spot.

They have structures that have hooks that stick to other materials, like a dog’s fur.

It looks like a propeller and glides down slowly as it falls. If it is windy, it can travel far away from the parent tree.