Once a fruit has grown to maturity, the next step is to find a way to head off into the world, where its seeds may take root in distant landscapes, strengthening the species by allowing for the exchange of genes between different populations.

Many low-growing plants have adopted a simple dispersal strategy: develop fruit with burs or spikes that snag the fur of passing animals. The Pima rhatany is a shrub native to Mexico and the southern United States. Its diminutive fruits (about one-third of an inch wide) are covered in barbs.