LBYPLNT (General Botany Laboratory)
ACTIVITY 15: SEEDS
SECTION A. PARTS OF A SEED
1. The Bean Seed
Draw the exterior parts. Remove the seed coat and gently split open the seed. Draw the
interior parts of the bean seed on the worksheet. Label the seed coat, micropyle, hilum,
cotyledon, embryo, epicotyl, and hypocotyl on your drawings. You may get a photo
from an online source.
2. The Corn Seed
Secure an actual specimen (if available) or a photograph of a corn seed and carefully split
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it longitudinally. Draw the corn seed and identify the pericarp, endosperm, cotyledon,
and embryo including the coleorhiza and coleoptile. Label your drawings.
peric
arp
endosp
erm
coleoptil
e
plumule
embryo
cotyle
don
radicle
coleorhi
za
SECTION B. CLASSIFICATION OF SEEDS
Examine different types of seeds listed in the table below (actual specimen if available or
a photograph) and complete table.
Specimen
No. of
cotyledons
Corn
1
Rice
1
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Endosperm (presence or
absence)
presence
presence
presence
Coconut
1
Red/white bean
Peanut
String bean/Baguio bean/pea
Mango
Squash/Melon
Lemon
Sunflower
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
absence (at maturity)
absence (at maturity)
absence (at maturity)
absence (at maturity)
absence (at maturity)
absence (at maturity)
absence (at maturity)
SECTION C. SEED DISPERSAL MECHANISMS
Complete the table below.
Specimen
Corn
Rice
Coconut
Red/white bean
Peanut
String bean/Baguio
bean/pea
Mango
Squash/Cucumber/Melon
Lemon
Sunflower
Mechanism of dispersal
or adaptation of seed
Allochory
Allochory
Allochory
Autochory
Autochory
Autochory
Agent of dispersal
(except by man)
Ornithochory
Anemochory
Hydrochory
Boleoautochory
Barochory
Boleoautochory
Allochory
Allochory
Allochory
Allochory
Ornitochory
Chiropterochory
Ornitochory
Anemochory
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Answer the following questions:
1 Explain the statement: “A seed is a baby plant in a box with its own lunch.”
The phrase "A seed is a baby plant in a box with its own lunch" refers to how
the seed's coat, which covers the seed, acts as a box until it begins to
germinate, while the "lunch" refers to the nutrients stored in the seed, which
will nourish the seed until it matures.
2. Do all dicot seeds have endosperm? Explain your answer.
Endosperm may or may not be present in all mature dicot seeds. As the
seed develops, the embryo grows, replacing the majority of the
endosperm. However, in other circumstances where endosperm is
present, the cotyledon structure is thin and serves to activate and transmit
nutrients from the endosperm to the seedlings following germination.
DLSU/BIOLOGY/ BOTANY PLC/ LBYPLNT_rev_T1_2021-2022