Ying: Plants using animals for seed dispersal

Plants have adapted various methods of dispersing seeds through animal contact:

Many plants, such as the Pacific Dogwood (Cornus nuttallii) , produce delicious fruit containing their seeds. When animals eat these fruits, they usually consume only the outer fleshy part of the fruit, tossing the seeds after eating and dispersing them away from the parent plant. Sometimes, seeds in the fruit can be swallowed by animals. When this happens, the seeds pass through the digestive system of the animal and are expelled, which also aids in the dispersal of the plant's seeds.

Fruit of the Pacific Dogwood (Cornus nuttallii)  [42.294429,-71.698345]

Some plants, such as the Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota) develop seeds with hooks or teeth that can catch on the fur of animals and carry them away. These seeds are eventually removed by animals through grooming or molting and the seeds are deposited or dispersed. 

Fertilized seeds of Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota)  [42.283719,-71.592992]

(close up of a Daucus carota seed)

Source: Walters, Martin, and Mick Lavelle. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Wild Flowers and Flora of the Americas: An Authoritative Guide to More than 750 Wild Flowers of the USA, Canada, Central and South America, Beautifully Illustrated with 1750 Specially Commissioned Watercolours, Photographs and Maps. London: Lorenz, 2007. Print.