Translations:Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Nature/Seeds/18/en

Animals

A barbed seed caught in the fur of a cat.

Seeds are often the bane of bushwalkers

A significant aspect of plant-animal cooperation involves plants designed to take advantage of animal abilities to move. Some fruit have prickly burrs or spikes that attach themselves to a passing animal's fur or feathers so that the animal will carry them away. Some seeds are contained within a soft fruit that "invites" animals to consume it. These seeds have a tough protective outer-coating so that while the fruit is digested, the seeds will pass through their host's digestive tract intact, and grow wherever they fall. Some seeds are appealing to rodents (such as squirrels) who hoard them in hidden caches, often beneath the surface of the soil, in order to avoid starving during the winter and early spring. Those seeds that are left uneaten have the chance to germinate and grow into a new plant.