How Plants Travel and Grow
In How Plants Travel and Grow, narrator Sir David Attenborough discovers how plants spread their seeds, even though they can’t move! Deep in the Borneo forests, plants use wind to give their seeds wings — like the Alsomitra vine’s gliding seeds that soar hundreds of meters on a gentle breeze. In Arizona, the saguaro cactus relies on bats to pollinate its flowers, which bloom for just one cool night before fading. This video is excerpted from BBC's Life, a show that explores the remarkable strategies animals and plants use to ensure their survival.
Lesson Express
Q: How do the different environments, like the forest and the desert, influence how plants disperse their seeds?
A: Plants in the forest, like the Alsomitra vine, rely on wind to carry their seeds, while desert plants like the saguaro cactus use pollinators, like bats, to help them reproduce. The environment shapes the plant’s seed dispersal strategy based on what will be most effective for survival.
Q: How might the saguaro cactus’s strategy of having flowers that only open at night help the plant survive in the desert?
A: By opening its flowers only at night, the saguaro cactus avoids the extreme daytime heat. It also attracts bats, which help pollinate the flowers. This strategy ensures the plant can reproduce in the harsh desert conditions.
Q: How do helicopter-shaped seeds help plants grow in different places, and why is this adaptation important?
A: Helicopter-shaped seeds help plants travel long distances by using the wind to carry them through the air. This allows the seeds to land in new areas where they can grow, increasing the plant's chances of survival and spreading. This adaptation is important because it helps the plant reach places where there might be less competition for resources or better conditions for growth.
More Like This
In A Flower’s Fierce Fight: The Brunsvigia’s Seed-Spreading Strategy, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes the Brunsvigia plant from South Africa, which waits for heavy rains to trigger its growth. It bursts through the surface with beautiful flowers that are pollinated by insects. After a few days, the flowers shrivel and die, and the wind carries the seeds far and wide, where they quickly begin to grow and start the cycle again! This video is excerpted from BBC's Life, a show that explores the remarkable strategies animals and plants use to ensure their survival.
In A Flower’s Fierce Fight: The Brunsvigia’s Seed-Spreading Strategy, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes the Brunsvigia plant from South Africa, which waits for heavy rains to trigger its growth. It bursts through the surface with beautiful flowers that are pollinated by insects. After a few days, the flowers shrivel and die, and the wind carries the seeds far and wide, where they quickly begin to grow and start the cycle again! This video is excerpted from BBC's Life, a show that explores the remarkable strategies animals and plants use to ensure their survival.