Secrets of Seed Dispersal: How Plants Travel — Reading Comprehension

Grades

Standards

RI.4.2
RI.4.3
RI.4.4
RI.5.1
RI.5.3
RI.5.4

About This Reader

Plants may seem stationary, but their seeds have amazing ways to travel! Explore the fascinating world of seed dispersal with this engaging worksheet. You'll discover how plants hitch rides on animals, take to the wind, float on water, and even explode to spread their seeds far and wide. Test your understanding with fun multiple-choice questions.

CONTENT PREVIEW

Have you ever wondered how plants travel? Unlike animals, they can't simply pick up and go. But surprisingly, plants have developed clever ways to spread their seeds far and wide, ensuring their survival and diversity. Here are a few of their sneaky secrets:

Hitching a Ride: Many plants have seeds equipped with hooks or barbs that cling to fur, feathers, or clothing. As animals move around, they unknowingly carry these seeds to new locations, allowing the plants to colonize new areas. This method, called zoochory, is used by plants like burdock and cocklebur.
Taking to the Wind: Some seeds are lightweight and equipped with feathery or papery structures. These wind-dispersed seeds, like dandelion and milkweed, can travel long distances carried by the wind, colonizing vast areas and reaching new habitats.
Floating on Water: For plants living near water, hydrochory is the key to dispersal. Seeds with waterproof coats or air pockets can float on water currents, sometimes traveling for weeks or even months before reaching fertile ground to germinate. This method helps plants like coconuts and water lilies spread across oceans and lakes.
Explosive Expansion: Some plants take a more dramatic approach. When their seed pods ripen, they burst open with a sudden force, propelling the seeds through the air. This ballistic dispersal, used by plants like jewelweed and witch hazel, helps spread seeds over short distances, ensuring they land in new areas close to the parent plant.

What type of seeds are best suited for wind dispersal?

a) Heavy seeds with hard shellsb) Lightweight seeds with feathery structuresc) Sticky seeds with barbsd) Seeds with waterproof coats

How does the explosion of seed pods help plants spread their seeds?

a) By attracting animals to eat the seedsb) By allowing the seeds to float on waterc) By propelling the seeds over short distancesd) By attaching the seeds to animal fur

How do dandelion and milkweed seeds travel?

a) By attaching to animal furb) By floating on waterc) By exploding from podsd) By being carried by the wind

What are the benefits of wind dispersal for plants?

Seeds can reach new habitats far away. Seeds are protected from predators. Seeds are able to store food for the journey.Seeds are able to reproduce quickly.

How do the seed pods of jewelweed and witch hazel help them spread their seeds?

They burst open with force, propelling the seeds.They attract animals to eat the seeds.They have sticky surfaces that attach to animals.They have feathery structures that are carried by the wind.