Nature Bulletin No. Different kinds spread their seeds in various special ways. Many seeds ride the wind.
Maple seeds spin away like little helicopters with a single wing.
In a strong breeze they can travel a city block. Those of the elm are small papery disks with a seed in the center. The ash seed and its wing resembles a canoe paddle. In the basswood a few seeds are suspended beneath a large flat blade that glides through the air. Ripe, dry pine cones open and release winged seeds hidden between the cone scales.