Vancouver Island Master Gardeners 
When you pour your seeds (home-saved or commercial) out of the package, you rarely think of what structures are inside the seed coat you see.
Parts of a Seed
Cotyledons are embryonic leaves providing water and energy for young plants until true leaves photosynthesize. There may be one (monocot) or two (dicot) cotyledons. Water absorption activates enzymes that break down nutrients for the embryonic plant.
Stages of Germination
Resources
- Parramon Editorial Team. 2004. Essential atlas of botany. NY: Barron’s Educational Series, Inc.
- Learn Seed Saving. 2025. Anatomy of a Seed. https://www.learnseedsaving.com/seed-anatomy/
Vancouver Island Master Gardeners
Vancouver Island Master Gardeners are local volunteers who educate the gardening public with current, science-based and environmentally responsible horticultural information. As a chapter of the Master Gardeners Association of BC (MGABC), our program and priorities shape healthy communities and a healthy planet.