The cold desert annual grass Eremopyrum distans exhibits position-dependent effects of seeds in the spikelet. Wang et al. (pp. 95–105) find that seeds from three positions in a spikelet differ in morphology, mass and in percentage and rate of seed germination, and the plants derived from them differ in growth and seed production. Distal seeds appear to represent a ‘high-risk’ life history strategy and basal seeds a ‘low-risk’ strategy.