Bean seeds have thin coats, easily peeled off after being soaked for a couple of hours. The bulk of these seeds is occupied by two, kidney-shaped, food-storage structures called cotyledons, or seed leaves (Greek: kotyledon, “cup-like hollow” or “concave,” as some cotyledons are). Only when these are carefully pried apart do we find the reason for the seed’s being: an embryo, a miniature plant waiting for the moment of its germination.
