seed

the ovule of a flowering plant; germ or propagative part of anything: seed of a rebellion
Not to be confused with:cede – yield or formally surrender to another: cede territory

seed

C0184000 (sēd)n. pl. seeds or seed 1. a. A mature plant ovule containing an embryo.b. A small dry fruit, spore, or other propagative plant part.c. Seeds considered as a group: a farmer buying seed.d. The seed-bearing stage of a plant: The grass is in seed.2. a. A larval shellfish or a hatchling fish: released scallop seed in the bay.b. An egg or cocoon of certain insects: silkworm seed.3. Something that resembles a seed, as:a. A tiny bubble in a piece of glass.b. Medicine A form of a radioactive isotope that is used to localize and concentrate the amount of radiation administered to a body site, such as a tumor.4. a. A source or beginning; a germ: the seed of an idea.b. A small amount of material used to start a chemical reaction.c. A small crystal used to start a crystallization process.5. A cell that disperses, especially a cancer cell that spreads from a primary tumor to another location in the body.6. Archaic a. Offspring; progeny.b. Family stock; ancestry.c. Sperm; semen.7. Sports A player who has been seeded for a tournament, often at a given rank: a top seed.v. seed·ed, seed·ing, seeds v.tr.1. a. To plant seeds in (land, for example); sow.b. To plant (a crop, for example) as seeds in soil.2. To remove the seeds from (fruit).3. To furnish with something that grows or stimulates growth or development: a bioreactor seeded with bacteria.4. Medicine a. To disperse to, as cancer cells: organs seeded by circulating tumor cells.b. To disperse or transfer (cancer cells, for example): a needle biopsy that seeded cancer cells into adjacent tissue; seed stem cells onto collagen gels.5. Meteorology To sprinkle (a cloud) with particles, as of silver iodide, in order to disperse it or to produce precipitation.6. Sports a. To arrange (the drawing for positions in a tournament) so that the more skilled contestants meet in the later rounds.b. To rank (a contestant) in this way.7. To help (a business, for example) in its early development.v.intr.1. To sow seed.2. To pass into the seed-bearing stage.3. Medicine To disperse and often multiply, as cancer cells.adj.1. Set aside for planting a new crop: seed corn; seed potatoes.2. Intended to help in early stages: provided seed capital for a fledgling business.Idiom: go/run to seed1. To pass into the seed-bearing stage.2. To become weak or devitalized; deteriorate: The old neighborhood has gone to seed.

[Middle English, from Old English sǣd, sēd; see sē- in Indo-European roots.]

seed

(siːd) n1. (Botany) botany a mature fertilized plant ovule, consisting of an embryo and its food store surrounded by a protective seed coat (testa). 2. (Botany) the small hard seedlike fruit of plants such as wheat3. (Botany) (loosely) any propagative part of a plant, such as a tuber, spore, or bulb4. (Botany) such parts collectively5. the source, beginning, or germ of anything: the seeds of revolt. 6. chiefly Bible offspring or descendants: the seed of Abraham. 7. (Zoology) an archaic or dialect term for sperm¹, semen8. (General Sporting Terms) sport a seeded player9. (Zoology) the egg cell or cells of the lobster and certain other animals10. (Animals) See seed oyster11. (Chemistry) chem a small crystal added to a supersaturated solution or supercooled liquid to induce crystallization12. (Botany) (of plants) to produce and shed seeds13. (Horticulture) (of plants) to produce and shed seeds14. (Biology) to lose vigour, usefulness, etcvb15. (Agriculture) to plant (seeds, grain, etc) in (soil): we seeded this field with oats. 16. (Botany) (intr) (of plants) to form or shed seeds17. (tr) to remove the seeds from (fruit, etc)18. (Chemistry) (tr) chem to add a small crystal to (a supersaturated solution or supercooled liquid) in order to cause crystallization19. (Chemistry) (tr) to scatter certain substances, such as silver iodide, in (clouds) in order to cause rain20. (General Sporting Terms) (tr) a. to arrange (the draw of a tournament) so that outstanding teams or players will not meet in the early roundsb. to distribute (players or teams) in this manner[Old English sǣd; related to Old Norse sāth, Gothic sēths, Old High German sāt] ˈseedˌlike adj ˈseedless adj

SEED

abbreviation for (Education) Scottish Executive Education Department

seed

(sid)

n., pl. seeds, (esp. collectively) seed, n. 1. the fertilized, matured ovule of a flowering plant, containing an embryo or rudimentary plant. 2. any propagative part of a plant, including tubers and bulbs. 3. such parts collectively. 4. any similar small part or fruit. 5. Dial. pit ². 6. the germ or propagative source of anything: the seeds of discord. 7. offspring; progeny. 8. birth: not of mortal seed. 9. sperm; semen. 10. the ovum or ova of certain animals, as the lobster and the silkworm moth. 11. seed oyster. 12. a small air bubble in a glass piece, caused by defective firing. 13. Crystall., Chem. a small crystal added to a solution to promote crystallization. 14. a player or team seeded in a tournament. v.t. 15. to sow (a field, lawn, etc.) with seed. 16. to sow or scatter (seed). 17. to sow or scatter (clouds) with crystals or particles of silver iodide, solid carbon dioxide, etc., to induce precipitation. 18. to introduce in the hope of increase: to seed a lake with trout. 19. to sprinkle on in the manner of seed. 20. to remove the seeds from (fruit). 21. a. to rank (players or teams) by past performance in arranging tournament pairings, so that the most highly ranked competitors will not play each other until later rounds. b. to arrange (pairings or a tournament) by means of such a ranking. 22. to develop (a business), esp. by providing operating capital. v.i. 23. to sow seed. 24. to produce or shed seed. adj. 25. producing seed; used for seed: a seed potato. Idioms: 1. go or run to seed, a. (of the flower of a plant) to pass to the stage of yielding seed. b. to deteriorate or decline, as in health, strength, or appearance. 2. in seed, a. (of certain plants) in the state of bearing ripened seeds. b. (of a field, a lawn, etc.) sown with seed. [before 900; (n.) Middle English sede, side, seed(e), Old English sēd, sǣd, c. Old Frisian sēd, Old Saxon sād, Old High German sāt (German Saat), Old Norse sāth, Gothic -seths; (v.) Middle English seden to produce seeds, derivative of the n.] seed′less, adj. seed′like`, adj.

seed

(sēd)Noun A part of a flowering plant that contains an embryo and the food it will need to grow into a new plant. A seed is a mature fertilized ovule.Verb1. To plant seeds in soil.2. To attempt to produce rain by cloud seeding. See more at cloud seeding.

seed

Past participle: seeded
Gerund: seeding

Imperative
seed
seed

Present
I seed
you seed
he/she/it seeds
we seed
you seed
they seed

Preterite
I seeded
you seeded
he/she/it seeded
we seeded
you seeded
they seeded

Present Continuous
I am seeding
you are seeding
he/she/it is seeding
we are seeding
you are seeding
they are seeding

Present Perfect
I have seeded
you have seeded
he/she/it has seeded
we have seeded
you have seeded
they have seeded

Past Continuous
I was seeding
you were seeding
he/she/it was seeding
we were seeding
you were seeding
they were seeding

Past Perfect
I had seeded
you had seeded
he/she/it had seeded
we had seeded
you had seeded
they had seeded

Future
I will seed
you will seed
he/she/it will seed
we will seed
you will seed
they will seed

Future Perfect
I will have seeded
you will have seeded
he/she/it will have seeded
we will have seeded
you will have seeded
they will have seeded

Future Continuous
I will be seeding
you will be seeding
he/she/it will be seeding
we will be seeding
you will be seeding
they will be seeding

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been seeding
you have been seeding
he/she/it has been seeding
we have been seeding
you have been seeding
they have been seeding

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been seeding
you will have been seeding
he/she/it will have been seeding
we will have been seeding
you will have been seeding
they will have been seeding

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been seeding
you had been seeding
he/she/it had been seeding
we had been seeding
you had been seeding
they had been seeding

Conditional
I would seed
you would seed
he/she/it would seed
we would seed
you would seed
they would seed

Past Conditional
I would have seeded
you would have seeded
he/she/it would have seeded
we would have seeded
you would have seeded
they would have seeded

seed

An embryonic plant and its food supply.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	seed - a small hard fruit edible seed - many are used as seasoningcoffee bean, coffee berry, coffee - a seed of the coffee tree; ground to make coffeepip - a small hard seed found in some fruitsbonduc nut, nicker nut, nicker seed - hard shiny grey seed of a bonduc tree; used for making e.g. jewelryJob's tears - hard pearly seeds of an Asiatic grass; often used as beadsoil-rich seed, oilseed - any of several seeds that yield oilsafflower seed - seed of the safflowercaryopsis, grain - dry seed-like fruit produced by the cereal grasses: e.g. wheat, barley, Indian cornash-key - winged seed of the ash treecoquilla nut - nut having a hard hazel-brown shell used like vegetable ivorybabassu nut - hard-shelled nut of the babassu palmcohune nut - nut of the cohune palm having hard white shells like those of ivory nutsapple nut, ivory nut, vegetable ivory - nutlike seed of a South American palm; the hard white shell takes a high polish and is used for e.g. buttonsneem seed - seed of neem trees; source of pesticides and fertilizer and medicinal productsbuckeye, conker, horse chestnut - the inedible nutlike seed of the horse chestnutjumping bean, jumping seed, Mexican jumping bean - seed of Mexican shrubs of the genus Sebastiana containing the larva of a moth whose movements cause the bean to jerk or tumblefruit - the ripened reproductive body of a seed plantbean - any of various seeds or fruits that are beans or resemble beansnut - usually large hard-shelled seedkernel, meat - the inner and usually edible part of a seed or grain or nut or fruit stone; "black walnut kernels are difficult to get out of the shell"
	2.	seed - a mature fertilized plant ovule consisting of an embryo and its food source and having a protective coat or testaovule - a small body that contains the female germ cell of a plant; develops into a seed after fertilizationepisperm, seed coat, testa - protective outer layer of seeds of flowering plantsendosperm - nutritive tissue surrounding the embryo within seeds of flowering plantspericarp, seed vessel - the ripened and variously modified walls of a plant ovary
	3.	seed - one of the outstanding players in a tournamentseeded playerplayer, participant - a person who participates in or is skilled at some game
	4.	seed - anything that provides inspiration for later workgerm, sourceinspiration - arousal of the mind to special unusual activity or creativitytaproot - something that provides an important central source for growth or development; "the taproot of his resentment"; "genius and insanity spring from the same taproot"muse - the source of an artist's inspiration; "Euterpe was his muse"
	5.	seed - the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tractcome, cum, ejaculate, semen, seminal fluidmilt - seminal fluid produced by male fishbodily fluid, body fluid, liquid body substance, humour, humor - the liquid parts of the bodysperm, sperm cell, spermatozoan, spermatozoon - the male reproductive cell; the male gamete; "a sperm is mostly a nucleus surrounded by little other cellular material"
Verb	1.	seed - go to seed; shed seeds; "The dandelions went to seed"reseed - seed again or anewdisgorge, shed, spill - cause or allow (a solid substance) to flow or run out or over; "spill the beans all over the table"
	2.	seed - help (an enterprise) in its early stages of development by providing seed moneyfinance - obtain or provide money for; "Can we finance the addition to our home?"
	3.	seed - bear seedsbear, turn out - bring forth, "The apple tree bore delicious apples this year"; "The unidentified plant bore gorgeous flowers"
	4.	seed - place (seeds) in or on the ground for future growth; "She sowed sunflower seeds"sowfarming, husbandry, agriculture - the practice of cultivating the land or raising stocklay, place, put, set, position, pose - put into a certain place or abstract location; "Put your things here"; "Set the tray down"; "Set the dogs on the scent of the missing children"; "Place emphasis on a certain point"broadcast - sow over a wide area, especially by hand; "broadcast seeds"inseminate, sow in, sow - place seeds in or on (the ground); "sow the ground with sunflower seeds"scatter - sow by scattering; "scatter seeds"
	5.	seed - distribute (players or teams) so that outstanding teams or players will not meet in the early roundsathletics, sport - an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competitiongrade, rate, rank, place, range, order - assign a rank or rating to; "how would you rank these students?"; "The restaurant is rated highly in the food guide"
	6.	seed - sprinkle with silver iodide particles to disperse and cause rain; "seed clouds"process, treat - subject to a process or treatment, with the aim of readying for some purpose, improving, or remedying a condition; "process cheese"; "process hair"; "treat the water so it can be drunk"; "treat the lawn with chemicals" ; "treat an oil spill"
	7.	seed - inoculate with microorganismsinoculate - introduce a microorganism into
	8.	seed - remove the seeds from; "seed grapes"remove, take away, withdraw, take - remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract; "remove a threat"; "remove a wrapper"; "Remove the dirty dishes from the table"; "take the gun from your pocket"; "This machine withdraws heat from the environment"

seed

noun1. grain, pip, germ, kernel, egg, embryo, spore, ovum, egg cell, ovule a packet of cabbage seed2. beginning, start, potential (for), suspicion, germ, genesis, inkling His questions were meant to plant seeds of doubt in our minds.3. origin, source, basis, heart, essence, nucleus, fount, wellspring the seed of an idea4. (Chiefly Bible) offspring, children, descendants, issue, race, successors, heirs, spawn, brood, sons and daughters, progeny, scions a curse on my seed5. semen, sperm, come (taboo slang), emission, cum (taboo slang), ejaculate, seminal fluid, spermatozoa, jism (taboo slang), spermatic fluid, spunk (Brit. taboo slang) man's innate tendency to spill his seed as widely as possiblego or run to seed decline, deteriorate, degenerate, decay, go downhill (informal), go to waste, go to pieces, let yourself go, go to pot, go to rack and ruin, retrogress If unused, winter radishes run to seed in spring.Related words
adjective seminal

seed

noun1. A fertilized plant ovule capable of germinating:kernel, pip, pit.2. A propagative part of a plant:spore, tuber.3. A source of further growth and development:bud, embryo, germ, kernel, nucleus, spark.4. A group consisting of those descended directly from the same parents or ancestors:brood, get, issue, offspring, posterity, progeny.5. One's ancestors or their character or one's ancestral derivation:ancestry, birth, blood, bloodline, descent, extraction, family, genealogy, line, lineage, origin, parentage, pedigree, stock.6. The male fluid of fertilization:semen, sperm.verbTo put (seeds) into the ground for growth:plant, sow.

Translations

种子种子选手结籽萌芽抽出种子选手

seed

(siːd) noun1. the (part of) the fruit of a tree, plant etc from which a new plant may be grown. sunflower seeds; grass seed.种子2. the beginning from which anything grows. There was already a seed of doubt in her mind.萌芽3. (in a sporting competition etc) a seeded player. 种子选手 verb1. (of a plant) to produce seed. A plant seeds after it has flowered.结籽2. in golf, tennis etc, to arrange (good players) in a competition so that they do not compete against each other till the later rounds. 抽出种子选手ˈseeded adjective having been seeded. a seeded player.被选为种子选手的ˈseedling (-liŋ) noun a young plant just grown from a seed. Don't walk on the lettuce seedlings! 籽苗，秧苗 ˈseedy adjective1. shabby. a rather seedy hotel.褴褛的2. ill or unhealthy. He's feeling a bit seedy.不舒服ˈseediness noun结籽ˈseedbed noun ground prepared for growing seeds. 苗床go to seed1. (of a person) to become careless about one's clothes and appearance. Don't let yourself go to seed when you reach middle age!变得不修边幅2. (of a place) to become rather shabby and uncared for. This part of town has gone to seed recently.污秽3. (also run to seed) (of a plant) to produce seeds after flowering. 花谢结果

seed

→ 果仁zhCN, 种子zhCN

seed

seed,

fertilized and ripened ovule, consisting of the plant embryo, varying amounts of stored food material, and a protective outer seed coat. Seeds are frequently confused with the fruitfruit,
matured ovary of the pistil of a flower, containing the seed. After the egg nucleus, or ovum, has been fertilized (see fertilization) and the embryo plantlet begins to form, the surrounding ovule (see pistil) develops into a seed and the ovary wall (pericarp) around the
..... Click the link for more information. enclosing them in flowering plants, especially in grainsgrain,
in agriculture, term referring to the caryopsis, or dry fruit, of a cereal grass. The term is also applied to the seedlike fruits of buckwheat and of certain other plants and is used collectively for any plant that bears such fruits.
..... Click the link for more information. and nutsnut,
in botany, a dry one-seeded fruit which is indehiscent (i.e., does not split open along a definite seam at maturity). Among the true nuts are the acorn, chestnut, and hazelnut.
..... Click the link for more information. . The seed-bearing plants arose more recently in evolution; in more ancient plants (e.g., mosses and ferns) the sporespore,
term applied both to a resistant or resting stage occurring among various unicellular organisms (especially bacteria) and to an asexual reproductive cell produced by many unicellular plants and animals and by all plants that undergo an alternation of generations.
..... Click the link for more information. is the agent of propagation. True seeds vary in size from the dustlike seeds of some orchids to the large seed contained in the coconut. The period of dormancy undergone by many seeds before germination also varies; the mangrove seed may sprout inside a fruit still hanging on the tree, while a seed of a sacred lotus dated at about 1,200 years and one of a date palm about 2,000 years old have been germinated. Long dormancy in some seeds is ensured by their extremely hard coats, which have to be scratched or split to force sprouting. In plant breedingbreeding,
in agriculture and animal husbandry, propagation of plants and animals by sexual reproduction; usually based on selection of parents with desirable traits to produce improved progeny.
..... Click the link for more information. , the source of pollen for fertilization is carefully controlled to produce the desired qualities in seed; under natural conditions a plant grown from seed may be quite different genetically from its maternal plant (see fertilizationfertilization,
in biology, process in the reproduction of both plants and animals, involving the union of two unlike sex cells (gametes), the sperm and the ovum, followed by the joining of their nuclei.
..... Click the link for more information. ).

Bibliography

See study by J. Silvertown (2009).

Seed

A fertilized ovule containing an embryo which forms a new plant upon germination. Seed-bearing characterizes the higher plants—the gymnosperms (conifers and allies) and the angiosperms (flowering plants). Gymnosperm (naked) seeds arise on the surface of a structure, as on a seed scale of a pine cone. Angiosperm (covered) seeds develop within a fruit, as the peas in a pod. See Flower, Fruit

Structure

One or two tissue envelopes, or integuments, form the seed coat which encloses the seed except for a tiny pore, the micropyle (see illustration). The micropyle is near the funiculus (seed stalk) in angiosperm seeds. The hilum is the scar left when the seed is detached from the funiculus. Some seeds have a raphe, a ridge near the hilum opposite the micropyle, and a bulbous strophiole. Others such as nutmeg possess arils, outgrowths of the funiculus, or a fleshy caruncle developed from the seed coat near the hilum, as in the castor bean. The embryo consists of an axis and attached cotyledons (seed leaves). The part of the axis above the cotyledons is the epicotyl (plumule); that below, the hypocotyl, the lower end of which bears a more or less developed primordium of the root (radicle). The epicotyl, essentially a terminal bud, possesses an apical meristem (growing point) and, sometimes, leaf primordia. The seedling stem develops from the epicotyl. An apical meristem of the radicle produces the primary root of the seedling, and transition between root and stem occurs in the hypocotyl. See Apical meristem, Root (botany), Stem

Seed structures

Two to many cotyledons occur in different gymnosperms. The angiosperms are divided into two major groups according to number of cotyledons: the monocotyledons and the dicotyledons. Mature gymnosperm seeds contain an endosperm (albumen or nutritive tissue) which surrounds the embryo. In some mature dicotyledon seeds the endosperm persists, the cotyledons are flat and leaflike, and the epicotyl is simply an apical meristem. In other seeds, such as the bean, the growing embryo absorbs the endosperm, and food reserve for germination is stored in fleshy cotyledons. The endosperm persists in common monocotyledons, for example, corn and wheat; and the cotyledon, known as the scutellum, functions as an absorbing organ during germination. Grain embryos also possess a coleoptile and a coleorhiza sheathing the epicotyl and the radicle, respectively. The apical meristems of lateral seed roots also may be differentiated in the embryonic axis near the scutellum of some grains.

Many so-called seeds consist of hardened parts of the fruit enclosing the true seed which has a thin, papery seed coat. Among these are the achenes, as in the sunflower, dandelion, and strawberry, and the pits of stone fruits such as the cherry, peach, and raspberry. Many common nuts also have this structure. Mechanisms for seed dispersal include parts of both fruit and seed. See Population dispersal

Economic importance

Propagation of plants by seed and technological use of seed and seed products are among the most important activities of modern society. Specializations of seed structure and composition provide rich sources for industrial exploitation apart from direct use as food. Common products include starches and glutens from grains, hemicelluloses from guar and locust beans, and proteins and oils from soybeans and cotton seed. Drugs, enzymes, vitamins, spices, and condiments are obtained from embryos, endosperms, and entire seeds, often including the fruit coat. Most of the oils of palm, olive, and pine seeds are in the endosperm. Safflower seed oil is obtained mainly from the embryo, whereas both the seed coat and embryo of cotton seed are rich in oils. See Food, Plant anatomy, Reproduction (plant)

Physiology

Physical and biochemical processes of seed growth and germination are controlled by genetic and environmental factors. Conditions of light, temperature, moisture, and oxygen affect the timing and ability of a seed to mature and germinate. Seed development (embryogenesis) is concerned with the synthesis and storage of carbohydrate, protein, and oil to supply nutrients to the germinating seedling prior to soil emergence. Seed development occurs in several stages: rapid cell division, seed fill, and desiccation. The timing of each stage is species-specific and environmentally influenced.

Dormancy

Seed dormancy is the inability of a living seed to germinate under favorable conditions of temperature, moisture, and oxygen. Dormancy does not occur in all seeds, but typically occurs in plant species from temperate and colder habitats. This process allows for a delay in seed germination until environmental conditions are adequate for seedling survival. At least three types of seed dormancy are recognized: primary, secondary (induced), and enforced. Primary dormancy occurs during seed maturation, and the seed does not germinate readily upon being shed. Secondary and enforced dormancy occur after the seed is shed and may be caused by adverse environmental factors such as high or low temperature, absence of oxygen or light, low soil moisture, and presence of chemical inhibitors. Seeds with secondary dormancy will not germinate spontaneously when environmental conditions improve, and need additional environmental stimuli. Seeds with enforced dormancy germinate readily upon removal of the environmental limitation. Regulation of dormancy may be partly controlled by hormones. See Dormancy

Dormancy is terminated in a large number of species when an imbibed seed is illuminated with white light. Biochemical control of this process is related to the functioning of a single pigment, phytochrome, frequently located in the seed coat or embryonic axis. Phytochrome imparts to the seed the ability to interpret light quality, such as that under an existing vegetative canopy, and to distinguish light from dark with respect to its position in the soil. Phytochrome also is affected by temperature and is involved in the seasonal control of the ending of dormancy. Hormones that promote germination of dormant seeds include gibberellins, cytokinins, ethylene, and auxins.

Germination

Germination is the process whereby a viable seed takes up water and the radicle (primary root) or hypocotyl emerges from the seed under species-specific conditions of moisture, oxygen, and temperature. Dormant seeds must undergo additional environmental stimuli to germinate. The germinating seed undergoes cell expansion, as well as increases in respiration, protein synthesis, and other metabolic activities prior to emergence of the growing seedling.

Seed

an organ of seed plants that performs the functions of reproduction, repopulation, and, in unfavorable conditions, survival. In the course of evolution of heterosporous higher plants the seed arose in connection with changes in conditions of existence (for example, climatic conditions) as an ontogenetic phase between the sexual process that occurs within the megasporangium (the seed primordium and the ovule) and the adult plant. For this reason the seed usually develops after fertilization. It sometimes develops secondarily, without fertilization; this phenomenon is called apomixis. The number of seeds formed on a single plant cannot exceed the number of mega-sporangia that developed as a result of asexual reproduction.

In the first seed plants—seed ferns (Lyginopteridopsida)—the seeds probably developed on the ends or in the axils of the telomes. In gymnosperms the seeds develop on open sporophylls (seed scales); in angiosperms they develop in the fruit, which is formed mainly by closed carpels. The type of seed is determined by the type and orientation of the ovule from which the seed develops. In some cases, however, owing to uneven growth of the young seed after fertilization, the seed may differ in type from the ovule.

On the seed surface it is usually possible to distinguish the hilum, that is, the site where the mature seed abscises from the funiculus. The micropyle at the lower end may remain in the form of a pore; the remains of the chalaza on the end of the cotyledon are in the form of a variously colored spot, nodule, or pore. The raphe between the hilum and the chalaza in anatropous seeds arises as a result of concrescence of the upper part of the funiculus with the ovule. Often the seed has outgrowths, for example, an aril, a caruncle, arillods, or strophioles, which ensure myrmecochory. The surface of the seed may be smooth and glossy (pea), reticulately dimpled (henbane), thorny (cockle), nodular (chickweed), or scaly (monkshood). Some seeds form wings (eremurus, bignoniad) or hairs over the entire surface (cotton).

A seed consists of the testa (spermoderm), the embryo (young sporophyte), and, in many plants, the perisperm or endosperm (tissues with reserve nutrient matter that develop outside the embryo). The testa is formed from the integuments, or coverings, of the ovule and serves to protect the embryo and often to help in seed dispersal. When two integuments develop in the testa one may often distinguish an outer one (pomegranate and gooseberry have a succulent outer integument) and an inner one. When there is a single integument, sometimes owing to the destruction of the second one during seed development, the testa usually consists of several layers of cells. The hardness of the testa is increased as a result of tissue sclerification. A thin testa is characteristic of seeds of parasitic plants (for example, Orobanchaceae) and orchids, as well as of seeds enclosed in monospermous indehiscent fruits (for example, nuts). Seeds lacking a testa are found among Santalaceae, Loranthaceae, and other hemiparasites.

The embryo usually forms from the zygote, that is, the fertilized egg cell, and sometimes from other cells of the embryo sac or of the nucellus of the ovule (polyembriony). Embryos may vary in shape and in their position in relation to the testa, the perisperm, and the endosperm. Development of the embryo in the seed occurs owing to the accumulation of nutrient matter in the endosperm and perisperm or in the cotyledons. The endosperm in gymnosperms consists of a vegetative part of the, female prothallium; in angiosperms it consists of a neoplasm that arises as a result of the merging of the second spermatozoid with the secondary nucleus of the embryo sac (double fertilization). The perisperm consists of remains of tissue of the nucellus or of the nucleus of the ovule. A seed may contain both endosperm and perisperm (Piperaceae, Nymphaeaceae), endosperm only (Ranunculaceae), perisperm only (Caryophyllaceae), or neither (Leguminosae). In the last case the perisperm does not develop, the endosperm is completely absorbed by the developing embryo, and the nutrient matter is stored in the cells of the cotyledons. A seed with an endosperm is often incorrectly called albuminous. The presence of an endosperm and a perisperm in a seed is considered a primitive character.

The deposit of nutrient matter in the body of the embryo is progressive. Reserve substances of the seed include proteins, fats, starch, sugar, vitamins, and hemicelluloses. Formed inclusions are protein granules, often with crystals of protein, globoids of a double salt of inosinic acid, and crystals of calcium oxalate.

The external and internal structure of seeds is genetically constant and, thus, is useful in the taxonomy of plants. Seeds vary in size and weight; they range from tiny, dustlike particles in Orchidaceae (for example, a seed of Goodyera repens weighs 0.002 mg, and that of Dendrobium attenuatum 0.005 mg) to large nuts in palms (for example, the seed of a sea coconut weighs up to 9 kg). The number of seeds in a single fruit ranges from one (Gramineae, Compositae) to hundreds of thousands and even millions (in some Orchidaceae). The number of seeds in a single plant may be vast (in Amaranthus up to 500,000 and in Sisymbrium up to 750,000).

The length of time that a seed retains its viability varies in different species and depends on storage conditions. Thus, willow seeds generally remain viable for no longer than several days; in closed vessels at temperatures of 12°-13 °C, however, they retain their viability 150 to 320 days. The hard seeds of certain legumes can sprout after 100 years, and lotus seeds preserved in a layer of peat for several hundred years have proved to be viable.

Seeds are planted by man for use as food or food seasoning and to obtain oils, starch, dyes, medicines, and other substances. The seeds of many plants, as well as meal and oil cake made from them, are used as feed for cattle and poultry. The hairs of cotton seeds are used by the textile industry and in medicine (hygroscopic cotton).

Sometimes dry, indehiscent monospermous fruits (grains, buckwheat, flax), entire collective fruits (sugarbeet), and tubers (potato) are erroneously called seeds. The study of seeds is called seed science.

REFERENCES

Mal’tsev, A. I. Rukovodstvo po izucheniiu i opredeleniiu semian i plodov sornykh rastenii, part I. Leningrad, 1925. (Trudy po prikladnoi botanike i setektsii, supplement 25.)
Takhtadzhian, A. L. Morfologicheskaia evoliutsiia pokrylosemennykh. Moscow, 1948.
Tsinger, N. V. Semia, ego razvitie i fiziologicheskie svoistva. Moscow, 1958.
Eames, A. Morfologiia tsvetkovykh rastenii, Moscow, 1964. (Translated from English.)
Aleksandrov, V. G. Anatomiia rastenii, 4th ed. Moscow, 1966.
Botanika vol. 1.7th ed. Moscow, 1966.
Esau, K. Anatomiia rastenii. Moscow, 1969. (Translated from English.)
Gaetner, J. De fructibus et seminibus plantarum. Stuttgart, 1788.
Martin, A. C. “The Comparative Internal Morphology of Seeds.” The American Midland Naturalist, 1946, vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 513–660.

N. N. KADEN

What does it mean when you dream about a seed?

The seed represents reproduction of life—human, animal, or plant. Everything from the knowledge we import (“plant a seed in their memory”) to the money we use to finance business ventures (seed money) germinates metaphorically from a “seed.” A seed may indicate an idea has been planted in the dreamer’s mind and is germinating into new life experiences.

seed

[sēd] (botany) A fertilized ovule containing an embryo which forms a new plant upon germination. (chemistry) A small, single crystal of a desired substance added to a solution to induce crystallization. (computer science) An initial number used by an algorithm such as a random number generator. (solid-state physics) A small, single crystal of semiconductor material used to start the growth of a large, single crystal for use in cutting semiconductor wafers.

seed

1. Botany a mature fertilized plant ovule, consisting of an embryo and its food store surrounded by a protective seed coat (testa) 2. the small hard seedlike fruit of plants such as wheat 3. (loosely) any propagative part of a plant, such as a tuber, spore, or bulb 4. such parts collectively 5. an archaic or dialect term for sperm, semen6. the egg cell or cells of the lobster and certain other animals 7. Chem a small crystal added to a supersaturated solution or supercooled liquid to induce crystallization 8. go or run to seed (of plants) to produce and shed seeds

seed

BitTorrent

seed

(1) The starting value used by a random number generation routine to create random numbers.

(2) A BitTorrent user who has a file that can be downloaded to another user. See BitTorrent seed.

(3) (SEED) (Self-Electro-optic-Effect Device) An optical transistor developed by David Miller at Bell Labs in 1986.

Seed

(dreams)Seeds symbolize new opportunities and new beginnings. Just as a seed is the beginning of a new life (or its earliest stage), your unconscious may be telling you that the ideas you have planted are beginning to germinate. Additionally, past experiences and hard work may be leading to new opportunities or possibilities.

seed

seed

seed

seed

SEED

seed

seed

seed

seed

seed

seed

seed

seed

seed

plant a/the seed of doubt (in someone's mind)

sow a/the seed of doubt (in someone's mind)

in seed

spill (one's) seed

plant a seed

seed money

sow the seeds of (something)

plant the seeds

run to seed

go to seed

plant the seeds of (something)

seed corn

a grain of mustard seed

birdseed

good seed makes a good crop

hayseed

go to seed

Good seed makes a good crop.

run to seed

go to seed

run to seed

seed corn

sow the seeds of something

plant the seeds of something

a grain of mustard seed

go (or run) to seed

sow the seed (or seeds) of

go/run to ˈseed

plant/sow the ˈseeds of something

birdseed

hayseed

run to seed, to

seed

seed,

Bibliography

Seed

Structure

Economic importance

Physiology

Dormancy

Germination

Seed

REFERENCES

What does it mean when you dream about a seed?

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Patient discussion about seed

SEED

seed

Synonyms for seed

noun grain

Synonyms

noun beginning

Synonyms

noun origin