page_title: Seed dispersal
section_title: Water dispersal
hierarchical_section_title: Seed dispersal / Mechanical dispersal / Water dispersal
caption_attribution_description: English: Manzanilla beach, Trinidad, March 2005 My image
context_page_description: Seed dispersal is the way seeds get away from the parent plant to a new place. "Dispersal" means to spread or scatter. The basic idea is as follows. Plants, obviously, cannot move after they have put down roots. It follows that it is an evolutionary advantage to get their seeds away from the parent plant. If the seeds take root nearby they will compete with each other and the parent plant. Also, a species is more likely to survive when its members are widely spread. This is because local disasters still leave plants in other places.
  From the first land plants in the Silurian period for 300 million years to the Lower Cretaceous, virtually all transport of spores and seeds was done by mechanical means. In fact, for most types of plants both fertilisation and dispersal was done by wind. If not wind, then water was the medium. A great change took place with the appearance of flowering plants in the Cretaceous.
  The story of flowers and insects is one of the best examples of co-evolution. The gut contents, wing structures, and mouthparts of fossilized beetles and flies suggest that they acted as early pollinators.
context_section_description: These plants usually grow near the water. Once the seed falls into the water, it may be carried for a long distance before it finds a place to grow.
  A good example is the water lily. Water lilies' beautiful flowers create a fruit that floats in the water for some time and then sinks to the bottom to take root on the floor of a pond. The seeds of the water lily can be dispersed and germinated in the water.
  The palm tree, which grows near the water, also disperses its seeds by water. Powerful ocean currents that connect continents move the palm tree's seeds, called coconuts, to their new home.
  The mangrove tree lives right in the water. Their seeds fall from the tree and grow roots as soon as they touch soil. If there is a lot of water, they can be carried far away.
  Most nuts, like acorns, walnuts, and pecans are dispersed by both water and animals. The main way that they are dispersed by water is during flood times, or if their plants grow near a river or stream. Many nut trees grow near places that flood quite often. Though water is important for nut trees, it's not as important as it is for other plants, because many trees have roots that can grow a long way from the tree to find good soil and water.
caption: Palm trees use water to disperse their coconuts
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