Seeds from a maple tree.
I wonder how many of these seed facts you already know? All seeds may share certain characteristics, but they come in many forms, shapes, and sizes.
Most living organisms on earth rely on the primary producers to get their energy. These primary producers are plants, trees, and such. Through photosynthesis they are able to produce their own food. All of these plants then reproduce through one of two main methods – seeds or spores. Here are some seed facts that I want to share to show you how amazing seeds are.
5 Seed Facts You Should Know About
A basic seed diagram, showing the main parts all seeds have regardless of how they look.
A single seed contains several different things that all help the new plant to grow and survive. Each seed contains an outer seed coat, an embryo, and most contain an endosperm.
All seeds have seed coats. These seed coats can take a huge variety of forms, from coconuts to berries. Those with thicker seed coats are able to better protect the seed from water and damage. For example, a coconut is a super big, thick seed coat that can even float on water. This gives the palm tree the ability to spread its seeds long distances as the coconuts float on the ocean, traveling to other islands.
Look closely at the individual seeds on a dandelion. Photo via Flickr.
One of the reasons seeds come in different shapes and forms is to help them get dispersed from where they were made. Some seeds are made light and can float away on the wind, such as the seeds from cottonwood trees or dandelions. Other seeds come inside of a fleshy fruit that animals like to eat. These kind of seeds are swallowed by the animal and then get moved to another area when the animal poops them out.
All seeds contain an endosperm. The endosperm is a nutrient rich substance that encloses the embryo within a seed. The embryo contains starch and proteins. Humans know all about endosperms because a large part of our diet comes from eating the endosperms of plant seeds. For example, corn, rice, and wheat all come from the endosperm of the seeds.
We get a lot of food from wheat.
Seeds come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes and are the basis of a lot of humans’ food. Due to the fact that seeds are in so many shapes and forms we are able to eat fruit, vegetables, and grains. The main reason that seeds come in so many shapes and sizes is due to plants quest for survival. Plants developed different types of seeds that give them the best chance of successfully reproducing and growing into new plants. This one reason led some plants to have seeds that are spread by wind and others by animals.