Plants try to avoid their seedlings dying from such fierce competition by spreading them out in their surroundings. They do this in three ways. Some plants use the wind to scatter their seeds, others use animals and a few use water.

Plants may use parachutes or wings to scatter their seeds. The dandelion is a an example of a plant which uses parachutes. The dandelion seed is small and light. The parachute grows from one end of the seed. It has a long stalk with fibres at its tip that spread out like spokes in an umbrella. When the parachute catches the wind the seed is plucked from the top of the flower stalk and carried high into the air. If the wind drops, the parachute makes the seed fall slowly. This gives the seed a chance to be blown high into the air again if a sudden gust occurs while the seed is still in the air.

The sycamore is an example of a plant that equips its seeds with a wing. Sycamore seeds are much heavier than dandelion seeds but they have much further to fall when the leave the parent plant. During their fall the wing makes the seed spin and slows down its fall. This gives the seed a chance to be caught by a gust of air and blown away from its parent.

A plant may use an animal to carry its seeds in one of two ways. It may produce soft juicy fruits which the animal eats or it may produce fruits with spines which stick to the outside of the animals body and allow the fruit and seed to be carried for awhile. The berry is a soft fruit which contains a seed. When an animal eats the berry it also swallows the seed. This is not a disaster for the seed because it has a thick coat which the animal cannot digest. In time the seed leaves the animal's body and lands with its own supply of manure to help it grow healthily.

Plants which grow near water often use the water to carry their seeds away. The coconut tree is an example of a plant that spreads its seeds in this way. The tree grows out over water and its seeds fall in and are carried away by the current. The seeds have a coat which makes them float. Coconut seeds can travel thousands of kilometres across oceans to find a new place to grow.