Seeds and Dormancy
It’s all about the seeds!!!
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Like any other organism, plants have to reproduce in
order to survive as a species!
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If plants didn’t reproduce, what would happen?!
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Exactly . . . . There would be no more plants! And that
would be bad . . . . Because there would be no more me
or you!!!!
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Most plants that you see reproduce by releasing seeds!!
Seeds!!!
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Seeds can come in all
shapes and sizes!!
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They can be tiny, like a
dandelion seed, or
BIG, like a peach pit!!!
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Regardless of the size,
the goal is simple . . . .
plants want to make
more plants!!!!
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Check out these
seeds!!!
What’s in a seed??
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Well . . . EVERYTHING a plant
needs to create a new plant!
Remember that a seed is created
when a pollen grain fertilizes an egg
cell in the ovary of a plant.
When that seed is created, it
contains all of the genetic material
needed to make a new plant!!!
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Question . . . . Why are plant seeds
normally hard??
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INDEED! To protect the material
needed to make that new plant!!
Spread them far and wide!!!
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Question . . . . Why do plants produce SO MANY seeds?
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Exactly . . . . The more they produce, the better chance the
plant has to reproduce!
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Remember . . . . Those seeds have to land in just the right
place to grow!
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Take a look at the next couple pictures. Good or bad
places for plant seeds to land?
Good Or Bad???
Good Or Bad?
Good Or Bad?
Good Or Bad?
Good ground is the key!!!
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Seeds have to fall in a place they can grow!
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What do they need?
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Fertile soil!
Plenty of sunlight!
Plenty of water!!
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But how do they get there?
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Lots of ways!!!
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Travelin’!!!
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Plants create LOTS of seeds and need to get them spread
far and wide!!
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How do they do that, because we know plants don’t
move around!
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There are lots of ways to spread seeds!!!!
Hitching a ride on an animal!
Soaring on the wind!!!
The most enjoyable journey of all!!!!
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Why do plants make fruit?!?!
To spread seeds . . . . . But
how?!
Think about it . . . .
Remember that hard shell???
Angiosperms!!!
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Most of the plants you are familiar with are
angiosperms!
These are flowering plants!!
Here are some examples of angiosperms!!!
Gymnosperms!!
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Gymnosperms don’t
produce flowers!!
Some are conifers – the
produce cones that
contain their seeds!
These are often called
evergreens! Some are
deciduous, which means
they shed their leaves in
the fall!!
Here are some common
gymnosperms!
Wait . . . . No seeds?!?!
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Say WHAT?!?!
Not all plants reproduce
using seeds!
Ferns, for example, releases
spores!!
Spores are like a halfcompleted plant!
If they land in a suitable
place, the reproductive
halves of the spore combine
and produce a new plant!!!
Now . . . . . Take a look outside . . .
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What colors do you see?
A lot of green?
Not really . . . .
With autumn comes what we call dormancy in many
plants!
The plants are shutting down for the winter. The leaves
turn brown/orange/red and fall off as the trees reduce the
amount of energy they are using.
Time for trees to take a nap!!!
Dormancy!!!