samara
Winged botanical dispersal unit
A samara is a dry, winged seed that spins as it falls, allowing wind to carry it away from the parent tree.
Maples produce the most familiar samaras—the paired "helicopter seeds" children throw into the air.
Ash, elm, and sycamore trees also produce samaras, though shapes vary.
Sap-yielding hardwood tree
blade · membrane · papery · asymmetrical · helicopter seed · whirlybird · spinner · sycamore
maple
Sap-yielding hardwood tree
wing · blade · membrane · papery · asymmetrical · helicopter seed · whirlybird · spinner · sycamore · tulip tree
autorotation
Self-sustaining rotor spin
- glideMove with effortless continuity
- driftGradual movement, no direction
- floatBuoyant object or vehicle
germination · colonization · spreading · airborne · whirl · spin · flutter · twirl
achene
Closed one-seeded fruit
legume · nut · nutlet · berry · pome · utricle · pericarp · fruit · dry fruit
- schizocarpscocci, maple key
- seed dispersaldispersal, seed dispersal, burrs, tumbleweeds, coconuts
- seed vesselspod, fruit, capsule, seed pod, cone
- tree seedsacorn, acorns, beechnut, pine seed, maple seed
- windbornedandelion seed, pollen, spore, thistle down, cottonwood fluff
- indehiscent fruitsachene, drupe, nut, pome, nutlet