Seed

Seeds are contained in either a protective seed pod[?] or a fruit while they are developing. Because a plant is unable to move from the spot where it is planted, and because a young plant will have trouble growing under the shade of its larger parent, many plants have evolved ways for their seeds to travel to a new location to grow there and to spread the population. Some seeds are attached to feather-light fibre parachutes that may be blown by the wind. Others have prickly burrs or spikes that will attach themselves to a passing animal's fur so that the animal will carry them away. Seedpods are often designed and shaped so that the seeds are flung away from the parent plant with great force when the seedpod springs open. And lastly, many seeds are contained within a sweet and juicy fruit that invites animals and birds to consume it. These seeds have a tough protective outer-coating so that while the fruit is digested, the seeds will pass through their host's digestive tract intact, and grow wherever they fall.

Some seeds require particular conditions to germinate, such as the heat of a fire (eg.many Australian native plants), or soaking in a body of water for a long period of time (e.g., mangrove and coconut).

The kernel is the essential part of a seed; all that is within the seed walls; the edible substance contained in the shell of a nut; hence, anything included in a shell, husk, or integument; as, the kernel of a nut. Also a single seed or grain; as, a kernel of corn.

See also : stratification (botany) for plant germination, botany

A SeeD in Final Fantasy VIII is a mercenary working for a Garden.