The intricate interplay between seed dispersal and predation is central to forest ecosystem regeneration and biodiversity. Plants have evolved diverse strategies to ensure that their seeds are ...

Ant-mediated seed dispersal, or myrmecochory, represents a sophisticated mutualism between a wide range of flowering plants and ants. In this interaction, plants produce nutrient‐rich elaiosomes—a ...

Take a look at squirting cucumber explosive seed dispersal in real time and slowed down. Credit: Helen Gorges/CC BY-NC-ND One doesn’t normally associate ballistics with botany, but most of us don’t ...

Introduction Have you ever looked outside on a windy day and seen "helicopter" seeds spinning through the air? Or picked up a dandelion and blown on it, sending the tiny, fluffy seeds flying all over ...

Picture a mature, broad-branched tree like an oak, maple or fig. How does it reproduce so that its offspring don’t grow up in its shadow, fighting for light? The answer is seed dispersal. Plants have ...

Anna Nordseth is an ecology writer and Duke University Ph.D. candidate specializing in tropical forest ecology, conservation research, and biodiversity. Think plants can’t move? You’re only half right ...

If you liked this story, share it with other people. Scientists are just beginning to uncover the complex relationship between healthy biodiverse tropical forests and seed dispersers—species that ...

A new study is first to show that marine animals can disperse eelgrass seeds, with implications for management and restoration. Look out the window and you're likely to see the dispersal of seeds -- ...

Plants frequently display fruit characteristics that support multiple seed-dispersal syndromes. These ambiguous characteristics may reflect the fact that seed dispersal is usually a complex process ...