Wings, parachutes, hooks and floating passengers: ten plant designs for a journey.
The editorial team created these illustrations with AI. They are explanatory images, not photographs of particular specimens, homes or events. Each card includes a checked fact and a source.
1. Maple samaras
Fruits and seed dispersal
Two papery wings make the little fruit resemble a propeller.
Checked fact. A falling samara spins and slows its descent, giving the wind more time to carry it away.
Source: Source — Maple samaras
2. Dandelion
Fruits and seed dispersal
The white parachute is a tuft of hairs called a pappus.
Checked fact. It carries a tiny dry fruit rather than a naked seed; the seed is enclosed inside.
Source: Source — Dandelion
3. Burdock
Fruits and seed dispersal
The prickly ball hooks onto fur and clothing with its curved bracts.
Checked fact. The plant sends its fruits travelling on another passenger rather than on wings.
Source: Source — Burdock
4. Coconut
Fruits and seed dispersal
The thick fibrous husk is part of the fruit surrounding its hard shell.
Checked fact. These layers help a coconut travel by water; the white flesh lies deeper inside.
Source: Source — Coconut
5. Lotus fruits
Fruits and seed dispersal
The showerhead-like structure is an enlarged receptacle.
Checked fact. Its separate cavities hold nut-like fruits; it is not one capsule containing a common bag of seeds.
Source: Source — Lotus fruits
6. Banksia
Fruits and seed dispersal
The woody fruiting structure resembles a cone, but banksia is a flowering plant.
Checked fact. Its follicles open to release winged seeds; the role of fire varies between species.
Source: Source — Banksia
7. Squirting cucumber
Fruits and seed dispersal
A ripe Ecballium elaterium fruit detaches from its stalk and ejects seeds in a jet of liquid.
Checked fact. Internal pressure turns the little green cylinder into a launch system.
Source: Source — Squirting cucumber
8. Balsam
Fruits and seed dispersal
In balsams of the genus Impatiens, ripe fruit valves curl rapidly and scatter seeds.
Checked fact. The illustration shows the mechanism, not a universal launch distance for every species.
Source: Source — Balsam
9. Poppy capsule
Fruits and seed dispersal
A dry common-poppy capsule holds seeds beneath a flat disc.
Checked fact. They spill through small pores as the stem sways, rather like a natural pepper shaker.
Source: Source — Poppy capsule
10. Mangrove propagule
Fruits and seed dispersal
The long green propagule is a mangrove dispersal structure.
Checked fact. It can travel through water before settling in a suitable place; not every shore allows it to take root.
Source: Source — Mangrove propagule