Seed Parts and Dispersal For Kids

Three Parts of the Seed

Seed Coat:

Every seed is encased in a seed coat. It protects inner parts of the seed from drying and from any physical injury.

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 it also serves as a barrier against the entry of parasites.

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You can see a scar can on one corner the seed coat. It is called the hilum

Embryo:

It is the embryo that ultimately gives rise to a new plant. It is the one which develops into a plant with an upward growing shoot and a downward growing root system. Cotyledons are the most prominent parts of a fully developed embryo.

Endosperm

It is food storage part of the seed consisting primarily of starches and protein. It helps the embryo to survive till the plant starts making its own food after germination.

Seed Dispersal:

We see plants all around us. But have you ever thought how they grow up without anyone planting them! How the seeds reach different places?

Trees produce fruits and flowers and seeds present in them but trees don’t walk, they can’t take their seeds to other places. Nature has developed several methods to disperse seeds. Seeds move in following ways :

Wind Dispersal:

Seeds from plants like dandelions trees are very light and have feathery bristles and these are carried long distances by the wind.

Animal Dispersal:

Birds sometimes eat the fruit or they eat them partially. While eating, the seeds also happen to enter their stomachs. But most of the seeds are indigestible. Birds often fly far away from the parent plant and disperse the seeds in their droppings.

Water Dispersal:

Many a times seeds float away from the parent plant. This especially true for the plants growing near rivers and water-bodies. It also happens during the time of floods.Seeds have hard seed coat hence they are not damaged while they’re in water

In this video for kids, a seed talks about himself and explains various important things in a very funny and interesting way.

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