Flying seeds

What are flying seeds? Plants spend most of their life cycle pinned at one location, except for the dispersal of their pollen and seeds mediated by air, water, and animals. The physical movement of pollen and seeds allows otherwise-sessile plants to explore new habitats, which may be necessary for the spread and survival of a population, especially in a changing environment. Flying seeds, more technically known as diaspores, are the dispersal units, comprising a seed and an additional appendage (such as a ‘wing’) that interacts with the carrier medium and enhances dispersal capacity. The appendages come in a wide range of sizes, weights, and morphologies: the mass of the three diaspores shown in Figure 1 spans almost three orders of magnitude. Here, we focus on the key concepts in aerodynamics of flying diaspores and explain how their forms are linked to their function in aiding dispersal.