August-September 2023 • Nebraskaland 21
kids move to exotic new locations. Unfortunately, most of
those seeds never make it to full planthood. They get eaten
or otherwise perish before they land in a spot where there
is bare soil, suffi cient light and moisture, and manageable
competition from nearby plants. That's OK. Only one seed
has to be successful to perpetuate the genetic lineage of its
parent.
Arguably, seeds have the best chance of becoming a plant
near their parent. After all, if the parent is thriving, the site
conditions must be pretty good, right? If the goal was simply
to create successful progeny, plants might all just drop
their seeds straight down, or maybe a few feet away. That
approach, however, only works until a disease, burrowing
badger, or other threat appears at that localized site and
wipes everyone out. So much for that genetic lineage.
Creating seeds that travel gives plants a chance to set up
satellite locations and hedge their bets a little. Hopefully, a
little distance between parents and kids means one or the
other will avoid that fungal infection or badger activity. Over
many generations, a family line might spread across many
acres, or even square miles, and really cement its legacy.
Seed dispersal, then, is a crucial strategy for most plants,
and the ways plants move those seeds across the landscape
can vary widely. Generally, though, most plants create seeds
that can be carried by wind, be ingested and deposited by
animals, or become attached to the hide of a passing creature.
The fi rst of those approaches consists of making
lightweight seeds with little feathery appendages that help
Illinois tickclover at sunrise at Lincoln Creek Prairie near Aurora in Hamilton County.
