Hydrochory

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The process by which seeds are dispersed by water
2. A method of seed distribution that occurs when seeds float and are carried away by water currents
3. The transportation of seeds via waterways to new locations for germination and growth

Etymology: Hydrochory is a straightforward technical coinage: it joins "hydro-", from Greek "hydor" meaning "water", with "-chory", from Greek "khōrein", meaning "to go" or "to move" in the sense of making room or travelling. The combination describes seeds that travel by water, so the word is built to be read at a glance by anyone who knows those two classical pieces. The "-chory" element appears in other botanical terms with the same sense of dispersal. Anemochory, for seeds carried by wind, is built on the same pattern with "anemo-" (air or wind), and zoochory, for seeds carried by animals, uses "zoo-" (animal). Botanists adopted this series of formations in the modern period to classify the many ways plants spread their offspring.

Synonyms: water dispersal, aquatic dispersal, hydraulic dispersal, hydrodispersal, waterborne dispersal