Rocket comes back from a walk with his dog. Little prickly balls cling to the dog's fur.
"Hey, you brought home stowaways!" Rocket says.
Raven looks closely. "What do you notice on the tips?"
Nova scans one burr. "Look for tiny hooks," she says. "What could hooks hold on to?"
Rocket grins. "Fur! And maybe my socks."
Some seeds have hooks or barbs.
The hooks catch on an animal's fur, feathers or skin.
The animal walks away and carries the seed with it.
Later the seed falls off in a new place.
People carry seeds too, when seeds stick to clothes or shoes.
Birds and other animals eat berries.
The seeds inside pass through the animal.
Birds can fly far away from the parent plant.
The seeds come out in the bird's droppings in a new place.
Robins help spread blueberry seeds this way.
Oak trees make acorns. Each acorn holds an oak seed.
Squirrels and mice carry acorns away and bury them in hidden spots.
Animals eat many acorns.
But some buried acorns are left in the ground. They can sprout into new oaks.
| Animal trick | Example | How the seed moves |
|---|---|---|
| hooks | burr on dog fur | rides on fur, falls off later |
| snack | berries eaten by robins | passes through, dropped far away |
| buried | acorns | carried and buried by squirrels and mice |
Let's see which surfaces grab a hook seed best.
| Statement | True or false? |
|---|---|
| Some seeds have hooks that catch on fur. | ? |
| Seeds can stick to people's clothes and shoes. | ? |
| Birds only drop seeds right under the parent plant. | ? |
| Every acorn a squirrel buries gets eaten. | ? |
Awesome work! Tomorrow we test seeds that float, pop and drop.