|Can plants move from one place to another?
There are some stories about rainforest trees
that can creep along the forest floor by growing
new roots on one side and letting the roots on the
other side die away, but these seem to be myths
without much real scientific support. However,
there are plenty of plants (strawberries are a
good example) that can move, in a way, but sending
out runners or shoots along the ground that then
grow new roots and basically make a new plant in a
nearby location. At first the 'daughter' plant is
connected to the original plant, but if the
original plant were to die, the daughter would
remain. Since the two plants are genetically
identical, this is sort of like the plant moving
itself. And let's also not forget that almost all
plants move all over the place at one point in
their lives - when they are seeds!
If they float, yes, but ordinarily plants are
rooted to the ground. The way that plants disperse
is by sending propagules, spores and seeds, to
other areas to colonize them. Thus, populations
can move, but individuals can't.
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