The Seed

A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering called the seed
coat,
usually
with
some stored
food.
It
is
a
characteristic
of spermatophytes (gymnosperm and angiosperm plants) and the product of the
ripened ovule which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother
plant. The formation of the seed completes the process of reproduction in seed
plants
(started
with
the
development
of flowers and pollination),
with
the embryo developed from the zygote and the seed coat from the integuments of
the ovule.
Parts of the Seed
There are three basic parts of a seed in the angiosperms: (a) an embryo, (b) a food
storage or nutritive tissue, and (c) seed covering.
Embryo
A mature seed has a diploid (2N) embryo which develops from a fertilized egg
or zygote. It results from the union of a sperm (1N), from a germinated pollen, with
a female egg (1N) in the embryo sac. The embryo can be distinguished from the
other major parts of a seed based on component parts and function. It consists of
the epicotyl, hypocotyl, radicle, and one or two cotyledons. It is the one which
develops into a plant with an upward growing shoot and a downward growing root
system.
The epicotyl is a tiny shoot from which the entire plant shoot system
develops. The growing tip of the epicotyl is the plumule. The hypocotyl is the
transition zone between the rudimentary root and shoot; the radicle is a small
embryonic root. Cotyledons are specialized seed leaves which develop from the
plumule and occur singly in most monocot seeds but two in dicot seeds. They are
the most prominent part of a fully developed embryo. Monocot means one
cotyledon while dicot means two cotyledons. (Click here to read relevant update)
Storage Tissues
The stored food is present in most seeds in the form of carbohydrates, fats
and proteins. This stored food may be found in the following parts of a
seed: endosperm, cotyledons, or in the perisperm. The stored food is used to
support the embryo during seed germination. But in orchid seeds, a functional
storage tissue is lacking.
The endosperm differs from other parts of a seed by having a triploid
chromosome complement (3N). It results from the union of one sperm nucleus (1N),
from a germinating pollen, with the two polar nuclei (2N) in the embryo sac. In corn
and other cereals it represents the major bulk of the seed. In other seeds (e.g.
beans), the endosperm is absent because it is utilized in the development of the

embryo. In this case the cotyledons, not the endosperm, serve as the food-storage
tissue. This is an example that of the different parts of a seed, the endosperm may
be wanting.
The endosperm can be described as either mealy, horny, continuous, or
ruminated.
It
is mealy when
granular, horny when
hard
and
bonelike, continuous when smooth and uninterrupted, and ruminated when there are
irregular depressions, as if chewed, as in betel nut (Areca catechu). Coconut water
is a liquid endosperm.
When the plant food is stored outside of the embryo in a large endosperm,
the seed is called albuminous. When the embryo stores its own food reserve,
usually within the cotyledons, the seed is called exalbuminous. In the latter case the
endosperm is absent, having been digested by the embryo during development, or
it is reduced to a thin layer around the embryo.
The perisperm is a storage tissue that originates from the nucellus. Thus, just
like other parts of a seed other than the endosperm, it has a diploid chromosomal
content. But it occurs only in a few families, e.g. Amaranthaceae (amaranth
family), Chenopodiaceae (goosefoot family) and Caryopyllaceae (pink (family). It is
usually digested by the endosperm during seed development.
Seed Covering
The seed covering is of maternal origin. This part of a seed consists of the
seed coat or remnants of thenucellus and endosperm. Sometimes it consists of
parts of the fruit. It covers and provides mechanical protection to the other parts of
a seed.
The seed coat is usually hard, thickened, brownish or otherwise colored, and
partly impermeable to water. It prevents excessive loss of water from within the
seed and serves as a barrier against the entry of parasites. Hard seed coats cause
dormancy, a condition which prevents germination when environmental conditions
are not favorable for sustained growth of seedlings.
The seed coat is developed from the outer covering of the ovule,
or integument. But it is not immediately apparent in the angiosperms because the
seed is encased in a fruit wall or pericarp. The outermost, visible part of the corn
kernel is in fact the exocarp, the outermost part of the pericarp.
There are usually two layers of the seed coat. The outer layer, known as
the testa, is thicker. The inner one is more delicate, known as tegmen.
Externally, some parts of a seed are obvious. On some seed coats, the
opening in the integuments of the ovule, called micropyle, is visible. The hilum is
usually visible also, the scar left by the stalk which attached the seed to the
placenta. The hilum is equivalent to the navel in humans to which the umbilical cord

is attached. It appears dark in color when the seed becomes physiologically mature
and is thus used as an indicator of seed maturity.
From the outside, seeds may be smooth, wrinkled, or hairy as in cotton, or
winged. In the castor bean (Ricinus communis), there is wart-like growth at the
hilum, called the caruncle. In mangosteen, the seeds are enveloped by a white
fleshy aril which is edible.

Seed germination
For non-dormant seeds, germination starts when a seed is provided with
water as long as the temperature is appropriate. The uptake of water by dry seed is
called imbibition (imbibition means to drink: seeds imbibe water, you do not imbibe
seeds). As seeds imbibe water, they expand and enzymes and food supplies
become hydrated. Hydrated enzymes become active and the seed increase its
metabolic activities to produce energy for the growth process. In addition, the water
causes turgor pressure to increase in the cells and they are able to enlarge.
As you will see in the movies of germinating seeds, the first part of the
seedling to emerge from the seed coat is the root (also called the radical). The
emergence of the root is typically used as the first indication that a seed is viable.
Eventually the shoot will also expand and emerge from the seed.
If germination occurs in darkness, root growth slows after the shoot emerges
and shoot elongation accelerates. This behavior increases the chance that the

seedling will emerge from soil into the light where it will be able to obtain energy
from sunlight by photosynthesis. Once a seedling emerges into the light, the plant
undergoes dramatic changes such as turning green and producing leaves. This lightdependent developmental transformation is called photomorphogenesis.
Seeds that possess a special food storage tissue called the endosperm are said to
be albuminous and those which have no such tissue for storage are said to be
exalbuminous or non-endospermic.
In albuminous seeds food is being stored in endosperm the cotyledons are small
and thin while on exalbuminous seeds cotylesdon store up food and become thick
and Fleshy. When germination of seed takes place then food is used by embryo
whether it is stored in endosperm or in cotyledon
Germination:-It is the process by which the dormant embryo wakes up and begins to
grow.
It is of two types
(1) Epigeal Germination
(2) Hypogeal Germination
(1)Epigeal:- In this cotyledons are seen upward by rapid elongation of hypocotyl e.g.
tamarind beans etc.
(2)Hypogeal: - When the cotyledons are seen to remain in the soil, and in this
epicoty the above the cotyledons and elongates and pushes the plumule upwards.