Once the plant has made the seed, it is released and must now find a suitable place to live. If there is the right amount of light, water, temperature and soil conditions the seed will start to germinate. This means that it will break out of its seed coat and pop out of the ground to begin to make its own food and grow its leaves and stems.

The inside of a seed contains all the things a plant needs to get started in life: a seed coat to protect from the weather, food for when it first starts out, and the embryo (the new plant itself).

The embryo is the green part you see inside the seed. There is also a baby stem (called the epicotyl) and two first leaves (called cotyledons) and a root cap. The plant uses these parts to get started with growing taller, making roots to absorb water and nutrients and will make some leaves to photosynthesize food.

If you would like to learn more about seeds, try some of these activities:

Collect some maple keys or other tree seeds from outside. Ask your mom or dad to cut them in half, but along the long side (like a peanut splits). This way you can see what is inside. Get a magnifying glass out and see if you can find the stored food (white stuff), embryo and its leaves, root and baby stem (hint; the leaves are green). Draw a picture and label it.

Take a bean seed and plant it in a small jar of soil. Water the soil a tiny bit and put it near a window. In a few days you should see some tiny leaves pop up. Can you see the stem and first leaves? Draw a picture and label it.

Send us your pictures and we'll put them on the Web!!!

Click on Next to learn about plants without flowers or seeds...