Seed – A tiny capsule with an embryo and stored food inside a hard seed coat.
DNA – A list of instructions inside every cell describing how an organism should look, work, and grow.
Reproduce – When an organism creates more individuals of its same species.
Vegetative Reproduction – When a plant creates an exact copy of itself. The new plant often grows from a small fragment that was separated from the parent plant. This copy has the exact same DNA as the parent.
Sexual Reproduction – When an organism creates another individual by combining its DNA with another individual’s DNA. This creates a new, unique organism.
Pollen – Contains DNA. Produced by one flower and sent to another.
Ovule – Contains DNA. Combines with DNA from pollen. Grows into an embryo.
Embryo – A tiny plant inside a seed.
Endosperm – Food stored inside a seed.
Seed Coat – A hard outer coating that protects the embryo and endosperm.
Cotyledon – An embryo’s leaf.
Monocot – A type of plant that only has one cotyledon.
Dicot – A type of plant with two cotyledons.
Dormant – A state in which the embryo is alive but does not grow. This can last for hundreds of years in some species.
Environmental Conditions – Conditions outside of the seed. Examples are water, temperature, sunlight, and nutrients.
Germination – When a seed breaks dormancy and sprouts
Imbibition – When a seed breaks dormancy and absorbs water.
Radicle – The first root to emerge from the seed.
Photosynthesis – A process during which a plant takes in carbon dioxide and water, and turns it into sugar and oxygen using energy from the sun.