Botany for Gardeners (Science for Gardeners)

by Brian Capon

A bird can fly a considerable distance in the time it takes for a seed to pass through its intestines and, at journey’s end, the seed is deposited with some fertilizer that may prove useful in getting the new plant started.

I remember explaining this to my children. Now, I tell grandchildren.

Close inspection of the bean seedling shows the stem’s growing tip between the first pair of leaves. The cotyledons have begun to shrivel as their stored foods are used by the developing plant.

Fascinating

If seeds are to be collected from fleshy fruits, they should be thoroughly washed and dried before planting.

That does explain my pomelo seed experiment low germination rate.

All of these distinctions are used by botanists for taxonomic (classification) purposes, to describe differences between species and groups of related species, called genera.

Also useful to botanical artists.