The seed is not a thing totally distinct from the parent plant, though it is separated from it It contains the same protoplasm as the parent plant, with this distinction; its protoplasm is in a condition of rest The seed is not dead, it is asleep and waits only for favorable conditions to wake into the activity of growth.
Function of the Seed
This resting stage is of two-fold value — it condenses the essential nature of the whole plant within small compass, capable of easy and wide dispersal, and, most important of all, protects the vitality of the embryo so that the seed can withstand periods of drought, cold, heat, or other conditions which would be fatal to the parent plant. Both dispersal and preservation are steps toward the chief function of the seed, which is to reproduce the plant that is at rest within it. This resumption of active life is called germination
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