How Does a Seed Becomes a Tree?
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Different Types of Seeds
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Like other seeds, the seeds of trees come in many different sizes and shapes, from cones and berries to fruits and gliding seeds. Seeds come in these varying forms because certain trees benefit from different types of reproduction. For apple trees, a large store of food in the fruit to provide energy for the growing seed and attract creatures that will disperse the seeds is important. For certain varieties of maple trees, reaching a wide dispersal area without using much energy is important, so the seeds grow gliders and use the wind to float away from the parent tree. Pine cones can either attract creatures for better dispersal or protect seeds against cold, insects and fire. These different approaches change how the seed arrives at the ground and how protected it is on its way.
Seed Composition
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At the core, however, tree seeds are similar and develop like other type of seed. Within the seed is an embryo plant, an undeveloped version of the tree that usually resembles a microscopic stem or root. This tiny embryo has the same DNA as its parent trees, all the encoded information that will direct its cells to reproduce in the correct fashion to make every part of the tree. Around the embryo is usually some type of starch or sugar food source. These surrounding food shell gives the seed a necessary burst of energy when it is first beginning to grow, allowing to quickly plant roots and grow several small leaves, enough for it to start creating energy on its own. This embryo-and-food combination is then covered by a seed coating.
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Seed Coating and Growth
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This seed coating is important: It protects the seed against outside contaminants, and tells the seed when it can start growing. There are various types of seed coatings, some soft and some hard. Some seed coatings are permeable and allow moisture to access the seed easily. These seeds grow quickly after settling in soil. Other seed coatings only respond to certain conditions, such as a period of cool moisture, which ensures that the seeds sprout at specific times of the year or during specific seasons. Some seeds have extremely hard coatings that take a while to break and delay seed sprouting for a long time. When growing trees, farmers and scientists put hard seeds through processes to break apart the coating before they are planted.
When the seed germinates, it sends roots down into the ground, gathers nutrients, and then produces a stem with leaves to gain energy from the sunlight. Like all plants, trees naturally put down roots into soil and leaves toward light, so even if the seed is upside down, the seedling will begin growing the right way. Although the stem of the seedling is originally soft, it quickly begins to grow tough xylem cells that form necessary sap veins and bark to protect the tree. Before long, the tree is a sapling, a young, miniature version of an adult specimen.
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