Seed Parts and Sprouting Starts
Summary
Seeds are extraordinary! For example, one tiny tomato seed will grow into a beautiful tomato plant that will give over ten pounds of tomatoes! The life of nearly all plants we eat starts as a seed. Though seeds come in different shapes, sizes, and textures, they all share common parts — and contain everything a plant needs to reproduce and begin growing. In this lesson, you will investigate the parts of a seed, learn about the germination process, and try sprouting seeds yourself.
Time
30-40 minutes.
Materials
- Seeds
- A small plastic bag
- A paper towel
Vocabulary
Seed coat: covers and protects the seed
Embryo: forms the new plant
Endosperm: acts as food for the seed and nourishes the embryo
Germinate: when a seed begins to grow and put out shoots.
Cotyledon: the first “leaves” of a plant
Monocot: a plant with one cotyledon
Dicot: a plant with two cotyledons
Read
Flowering plants are divided into two categories determined by the first leaves that emerge from the seed. These first leaves on a plant are called cotyledons. Some plants have one leaf in the seed, called monocots, and plants with two leaves in the seed are called dicots.
