Black Eyed Susans Mysteriously Appear in Garden

A privately owned flower garden contains black-eyed Susan flowers, which the owner never planted. Upon making this discovery of “mystery flowers”, she wonders who or what could have planted them.

• Where do you think the black-eyed Susan seeds came from?

• What might cause flowers to seem to appear from out of nowhere?
• How far do you think a black-eyed Susan seed might travel in order to be planted in the flower garden?

Students could: 

• Brainstorm how seeds travel.
• Consider how seeds are planted without human help. Observe the way local trees’ seeds travel, such as “helicopter seeds” from maple trees 
• Students could stand on chairs, desks or tables (a variety of heights indoors) and drop the seeds, then measure the distance traveled from each drop. Do the same type of activity outside, preferably on a playground where equipment is available to stand on. Discuss whether wind played a factor in the distance the seed traveled. 
• Measure the distance different seeds can travel in windy conditions. Use a small fan to create mild wind conditions. Adjust the fan speed to create more gusts. Consider bringing in other tools to create wind, such as a leaf blower or hair dryer. 
• Compare and contrast the physical properties of seeds. 
• Investigate which seeds stick to animal fur and which do not . With a variety of seeds and animal furs, brush the furs up against the seeds to see which stick to the fur and which do not. Attempt to “travel” with the furs and measure how far the seed can travel before it drops.

• PBS LearningMedia | Nature Cat: Travelin' Seeds: In this video, a characters find a flower in a garden that she didn’t plant, it’s up to Nature Cat and his pals to find out where the flower came from.
• PBS LearningMedia | Nature Cat: Seed Soaring | PBS LearningMedia: An interactive game for students to watch and learn how a dandelion seed gets dispersed in a forest.