• Question: where do plant seeds come from

    Asked by Awesomedude123 to Colin, John, Kevin, Shikha, Triona on 18 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: Kevin Motherway

      Kevin Motherway answered on 18 Nov 2014:

      A seed is a plant embryo, plus nutrient tissues to feed the embryo, packaged in a protective shell.

      When a seed germinates, a plant grows out of it. Many non-flowering plants like pine trees also grow from seeds. After the plant matures, it reproduces.

      For flowering plants, that means they make flowers to attract pollinators. Pollen is delivered to flowers by bees, wind, or a number of other carriers. Sperm cells leave the pollen and fertilize the eggs, which are found deep inside the flower. The outer parts of the flower (the parts we think are pretty) then die, but the inner parts that contain the fertilized eggs develop into fruit. All fruits contain seeds (except strawberries!). The fruit’s job is usually either to provide food for the baby plant or to tempt an animal to eat the fruit, spreading the seeds in the process. Once the seeds are out of the fruit and into the ground, they grow into new plants!

    • Photo: Shikha Sharma

      Shikha Sharma answered on 19 Nov 2014:

      Hi Awesomedude123…

      As Kevin said a seed is a plant embryo. It’s formed as a product of sexual reproduction. A flower’s center contains two types of parts- The one in the very center is called the stigma and the other surrounding the stigma is called stamen. The stamen are topped by pollen, that when gathered by different means e.g., insects or bees or air and is dropped into the stigma. When it is dropped into the stigma, it travels down to the ovary by going through another tube called the style. Once the pollen reaches the ovary, it fertilizes tiny particles called ovules. Once those ovules are fertilized they are called seeds. 🙂

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