As the plant blows in the wind, seed spills out a bit at a time, as if it were being shaken from a salt shaker. Plants that usethis strategy often drop their seed over a period of weeks or months through the fall and into winter. When seed drops in winter, it may fall into soft snow, burying it and protecting it from the eyes of birds. If it falls onto the icy surface of windswept snow, it may be blown a long way across the snow surface, and so find a new home at some distance from the parent plant. Travel on the wind is the seed strategy that every kid who has ever blown on a dandelion puffball knows about and many prairie seeds use it.
Many seeds travel easily on the wind because they are small and light, or have a flattened shape.
Sometimes, whole dry plants or broken plant parts will blow around, distributing seeds as they go. It's hard to go for a walk in autumn without coming back with your socks full of grass seeds, enchanter's nightshade, and beggar's ticks. Other seeds, including phlox, flax, rushes, plantain, and shepherd's purse, get sticky when wet. The fruits of some plants are specialized capsules that dry unevenly, building up pressure. These capsules eventually explode, forcibly expelling their seed.