Letter of the month

Seedy animals

■ Dear HIW,

Can seeds really grow on animals? I am a pupil from Shanghai, China.

Ada

Plants have various ways to distribute seeds, including transportation in the wind, being eaten with fruit and taken through an animal’s digestive tract, or carried in an animal’s fur.

While seeds can stick to the fur of animals, they only grow when they reach soil in a new location. These seeds are covered in hooks and spines to cling onto an animal and be taken