Do Flowering Plants Produce Seeds?

These flowers came from seeds.

All flowering plants produce seeds, according to the website Globio. In the wild, plants need the help of animals, birds and the wind to disperse their seeds before they can sprout into new plants. Seeds will sprout under the proper outside conditions, but some vegetable gardeners prefer to plant seeds inside during the winter to get an earlier harvest season.

Significance

To produce seeds, flowering plants must be pollinated. Plants contain female parts called pistils. When pollen from the male reproductive organs, known as stamens, reaches the pistil, the ovaries inside develop into flowers and the ovules turn into seeds.

Identification

Each plant seed contains a sporophyte embryo and material to feed the embryo. While in the flower, the embryo in the seed is dormant. When the proper conditions are met, such as water, light and temperature, the embryo becomes active and the seed germinates.

Warning

While people snack on the seeds of some flowering plants, not all seeds are edible. The seeds of the oleander plant are very poisonous. Symptoms include oral burning and nausea. Death is possible. According to Duke University, Sri Lankan residents sometimes eat yellow oleander seeds to commit suicide. As a precaution, do not eat any seeds from a flowering plant unless you know they are safe for consumption.

References

• Globio: Plants
• Palomar: Flowering Plants
• Clinton Community College: Seed Plants
• University of Missouri: Starting Plants Indoors From Seeds
• Duke University: Yellow Oleander Toxicity