Download seed sense - Idaho Botanical Garden

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SEED SENSE
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'Instructiona1 Object.ive: StNdents will' develop an awa>relilessof seeds
and reaiHzet:heir .im,p@rtance,in our environmemt.
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A seed is a paokage (seed coat) cOFlta>i,ninga baby plant (embryo) and a food
s1!lpply (endosperm). Eac!:l student wiM dissect a seed to see t!:lese stmctures
during the garden tour.
There aI1etwo classes of seed plants. The gymnosperms, suc!:l as t!:lepine,
pnvduce ",naked seeds",that kave no outer cove.r1ng. TIDeangiosperms, such
as the apple, !:lave a protective covering around the seed called a fruit.
Students w<illsee examples Gf bot!:l gyn'l.lI1<osperms(coIl<Hers)and
angiosperms (flowering plants) dluing the garden tour.
The .rnissiOffi:of a seed is to grow iFl,toa mat1.>1!re
pl'ant tha~tproduces more
seeds. To grGJW,a seed needsmoishlre,
air, warM1.t;haJ}d sometimes light!'.
W!:len t!:le,embryo inside the seed begins to grow, bFleseed coat splits and
germination occurs. Germi\!1ation may occur after a long or s!:lort sleeping
period (dormancy). An embryonic root appears and grows dmvnward into
t!:le soil to 'become t!:le primary root, the main root or the plaill1t. Soon a
growing shoot appears, aJioldits ste-IDand other l~eaves, called true leaves,
deve10p upward. The young shoob and its leaves continHe to grow into a
~mature planl, a process that rnay take a few weeks or many years.
Vis'persal occUtrswmen a seed travels away from itsrarent plant into the
environment. D,ispersal may 'be a few inc!:les or many miles. Advantages of
dispersal include lessening plant crowding and allowing plants to !:lavea
wide chstribution. J;fsomething in one area killisaN of' the plants of that
.type, ubhers t!:lait!:lavetraveled away trom t!:learea will survive.
Because of their concentrated food supply of starch, fat and/ or protein,
seeds are a favorite food of lilany animals including man. T!:lese are some
examples of seeds we eat: w!:leat, rice, corn, walnuts, 'beans, peanuts,
coffee, cocoa, nutmeg and othe'¥ spices. SoybeaLls aire rich in oil and protein
while brna beans contaiN starch and proteiIil..
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SEED TRIVIA
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The largest seed in the world, the coconut, is a long-distance
Coconuts have been known to float in the ocean for thousands
germinate in a distant land.
traveler.
of miles, to
.
Some seeds need fire to be released from their cone. One seed found in
Idaho will only germinate after a fire rages over it. It is the seed of a tall,
slender pine tree, the lodgepole pine.
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The oldest seeds found are believed to be between 10,000 and 15,000
years old. The seeds of the Arctic Lupine were found frozen in the Yukon
in 1954.
. The smallest seeds are those found in orchids. Four million dustlike
seeds have been counted in a single fruit.
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Early settlers used the "fuzz" of the cattail for bedding.
insulation against cold, stuffed into boots.
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Cocklebur seeds found within burs are edible.
cocklebur seeds in their diet.
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It can be used as
Indians included
Chocolate is made from the seeds of a cacao, a tropical fruit.
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Over half a million tons of peanut seeds are used to make peanut butter
each year.
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Seeds from certain pine trees are delicious nuts in specialty cookies.
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Botanical garden: a place where plants are collected and displayed for
scientific, educational and artistic purposes.
Botany: the study of plants.
Seed: a fertilized plant egg containing a baby plant and its food supply (a
little plant in a box with its lunch).
Seed coat:
the outer layer of the seed.
Embryo: the baby plant within the seed, before germination.
Endosperm: tissue of the seed containing stored food, found only in
flowering seed plants.
Gymnosperm: a seed plant producing seeds that have no outer covering.
Angiosperm: a seed plant producing seeds that have an outer covering
called a fruit.
Fruit: in angiosperms, the part of the plant containing the seeds.
Germination: the beginning of growth of the plant embryo from the seed.
Dormancy: a condition of st9Pped growth, sometimes called a resting stage,
of seeds and buds.
Primary root: the main root of a plant formed from the root tip of the
embryo.
Cotyledon: the seed leaf, or first leaf of the embryo.
Growing shoot: the main above-ground portions, such as the stem and
leaves, of a young plant.
Leaf: a plant part that receives light and uses it to produce food for the
plant.
Dispersal: movement
Environment:
of seeds or fruits away from the parent plant.
the surroundings
of a living thing, including the plants and
animals with which it lives.
Flower: the reproductive parts of a seed-bearing plant, busy workshops
that make the plant's seeds. Among the functions of a flower are attraction
of pollinating insects, production of pollen, and production of seeds.
Dr. Christopher Davidson: founder of the Idaho Botanical Garden, with a
doctorate in botany.
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THESE ACTIVITIES ARE SUGGESTED
FOR USE BEFORE THE TOUR
SEED ART
Create a name tag to wear on your tour of the Idaho Botanical Garden.
Your tour guide will need to know who you are.
Cut a piece of index paper (file card stock) measuring approximately four
inches by three inches. Cut out one of the pictures below showi~g a fruit
containing its seeds. Color the fruit and seeds different colors. Paste the
colored picture to your name tag, leaving room for your first name. Write
your first name on the name tag. Use a safety pin to pin on your name tag
just before you leave school to go to the Garden.
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SEED WORD SEARCH
Circle the key terms. Find them by reading forward, up, down, or
diagonally.
X
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D T C F E
The tern1S:
Seed
Seed Coa t
Embryo
Gern1ina te
Cotyledon
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N J G
D M P
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S R X
P WA
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Endosperm
Dispersal
Botany
Leaf
Fruit
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.SEEDPLANTINGACTIVITIES
Line the entire inside of a clear plastic cup with paper towels. Moisten the towels.
Fill the cup with soil, sand or gravel to keep the towels next to the plastic. Slide
seeds between the paper towels and the inside of the cup. Keep the towels moist,
but not soggy. Place in a dark cupboard. Periodically take out cup to see the
sprouting seeds.
Discover seeds in a variety of fruits and vegetables. Plant some of these in potting
soil mix to see if they will grow. Place in a sunny window, keep soil moist.
Examples: apple, avocado, bean, com, peanut, pear, plum, olive, pea, peach,
sunflower seed, tomato.
Plant seeds in potting soil mix that has graduated amounts of fertilizer, increasing
it until you have one with enougli to "bum" the plants. Be sure to plant enough
seeds to eliminate the possibility of faulty ones.
Plant seeds in different types of soil- some in sand, pumice, alkaline, etc. See what
happens.
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Plant seeds in potting soil mix that is very loose, tightly compacted, and in soil that
feels about right. Note the characteristics in growth of the plants in the different
soils.
Place seeds in water only. Include a variety such as beans, ivy, avocado, com.
What happens? What if you just leave them in the water? Will they grow?
Add several kinds of pollutants to the water used for the seeds, such as: bleach,
soap, colorings, vinegar, salt, and so forth. What happens?
Most plants produce an abundance of seeds, but only a few grow into adult
plants. Even fewer seeds would mature if they weren't dispersed away
from the parent plant. Here's an activity that will show you how some of
the plants in your area disperse their seeds.
You'll need a clean, old sock (the fuzzier the better), a pot of potting soil
mix (sterile), and a field full of weeds.
Wear, or drag, the sock through the weeds in the field. If you use one of
your parent's old socks, you might be able to wear it over your shoes.
Plant the sock in the pot just like it's a seed. Water it regularly.
Soon you'll have a weed garden.
you collect in your sock?
How many different kinds of seeds did
This activity was adapted frorn the "Seed Dispersal" unit developed by the
Outdoor Biology Instructional Strategies (OBIS) Project. OBIS offers.
educational activities designed especially for community and sc~ool
groups in a variety of outdoor settings.
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THESE A~TIVIT1IES ARE SUGGESTED
FOR USE AFTER THE TOUR
SEED AND SEEDLING PARTS
Here are several drawings of seeds and seedlings. Study the following
parts:
Seed coat
Cotyledon
Growing shoot
Stern
True leaf
Embryo
Endosperm
Primary root
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Cotyledon
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_Stem
Growing
Shoot
Corn
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SEEDS W.E EAT.
A grocery store is full of seeds people eat. Seeds can be found in the
section where spices are displayed and where vegetables are kept. In
addition, a grocery store stocks foods that are made from seeds. Ask your
mom or dad to take you to the grocery store for a seed search.
Make a list of the seeds you found.
Teacher: Please see answer sheet at end of packet.
SEEDS ANIMALS EAT
Animals also like to eat seeds. Make a list of animals that eat seeds and the
seeds they like to eat.
Animal
Teacher: Please see answer sheet at end of packet.
Seed
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SEED STORY OR POEM
Pretend you are a bur, which is a seed in a fruit with hooks, spines, hairs, or
sticky covering. Tell the story of your travels after you became stuck on a
bear, dog, cat, rabbit or other animal. Draw a picture to go with your story.
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SEED MATH
How many seeds does one dandelion flower produce?
Find dandelion flowers that have gone to seed. They are white and fluffy.
Collect 10, preserving all the se~ds by putting a small plastic bag over the
flower and grasping the bag around the flower stem before removing the
dandelion. Ask a classmate to 1;lelpyou count the fruits (or seeds) on each
of the 10 dandelions. One fruit is a seed with its parachute, so the number
of fruits will equal ~he number of seeds. Find the average number of seeds
per flower.
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Average number of
seeds per flower
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Total seeds on 10 flowers
10 flowers
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SEED RESEARCH AND REPORT
Cultivated bananas produce no seeds. Write a report explaining how
bananas are raised.
SEED TRAVEL GUIDE
Purpose: To see how far seeds travel. (One fruit is a seed with its wings or
parachutes, so the number of fruits will equal the number of seeds.)
Materials:
tape measure
winged tree seeds: maple or ash (helicopter seed)
chair
fluffy dandelion tops (parachute seed)
Procedure for Helicopter Seed Experiment:
1. Stand on a chair and throw a winged seed in the air.
2. Measure the distance the seed traveled.
3.
Record your data:
4. Throw another seed in the air and measure the distance it traveled.
Record your data:
5. Which seed traveled the farthest?
6. Break the wing off a seed and throw it in the air. How far does a seed
travel after the wing is broken off?
Procedure for Parachute Seed Experiment:
1. Blow on the top of a dandelion fluff.
2. Measure how far the seeds traveled.
3. Record your data:
4. Wet a fluffy dandelion top.
5. Blow on the wet top.
6. How far did the seeds travel?
7. When dandelion seeds are scattering, what kind of weather would be
best?
8. Pretend that you are a seed. Describe how you will travel awayfroIn
.your parent plant?
Conclusion
(What did we do and why?):
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FILMS, KITS AND BOOKS
The following materials are available to Boise schoolteachers
from the Instructional Media Center, Boise Schools:
and may be checked out
KEY
P = primary
E =elementary
J =juniorhigh
S = senior high
FILMS
PE
MP 1379
Plants that Grow from Leaves, Stems and Roots (also available in videotape)
PE
MP 5194
Plant Through the Seasons: Apple Tree
PEJ
MP 1329
What Do Flowers Do: A First Film
PEJ
MP 1307
Plants and Their Importance
PEJS
MP 5604
Secrets of the Plant World
PEJS
MP 9159
Nature's Half Acres (also available in videotape)
E
MP 1165
Plants Make Food
P
S 53-01
Plants (Singer)
P
S92
Ways of I'lants
PE
S86
Plant Kingdom Classification Set
EJ
S 125
Interrelationships
EJS
S 107
Talking Flower
KITS
in Nature
The following books are available from the Boise Public Library:
KEY
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BOOKS
E =3rd grade and under
J = 4th-6th
grade
AD = Adult
R = Reference
NW = Northwest
Dewey #
Author
Title
E
Fic
Ginsberg
MU5hroom in the Rain
E
Fie
Hutchins, Pat
Titch
E
Fie
Lobel, Ani ta
The Rose in My Garden
E
Fie
Rylant, Cynthia
This YeaJ's Garden
Dewey #
E
582
Author
Title
KirkpatTick, Rena
Look at Seeds and Weeds
E
586
Challand, Helen-
Plants Withou t Seeds
J
Alexander, Taylor
Botan)':
Hutchins, Ross
The Amazing. Seeds
Went, Frits
The Plants
Selsam, Millicent
Eat the FruitLPlant the Seed
Lauber, Patricia
Seeds. Pop. Stick. Glide
Johnson, Sylvia
Mosses
J
Pringle, Laurence
Being.a Plant
J
Rahn, Joan Elrna
Grocery Store Botany
Selsam, Millicent
The Tomato and Other Fruit V~etables
Dowden, Anne O.
Wild Green Things in the City
Lauber, PatTicia
From FJower to Flower: Animals and Pollination
Coldrey, Jennifer
Discovering Flowering Plants
Overbeck, Cynthia
Sunflowers
Selsam, Millicent
Bulbs. Corms andSuch
AD
581
Novak, F.A.
Pictorial Encyclopedia of Plants and FJowers
AD
581.61
Simpson, Belyl
Economic Botany: Plants in OurWorld
AD
581.07
Harrington, H.D.
How To Identif)': Plants
AD
NW
581.9
Davis, Ray
Flora Qf Idaho
AD
582.063
TuB, Delena
A Practical Guide to Edible & Useful Plants
AD
R
581.03
Chinery, Michael
Science Dictionary of thePlant World
AD
R
580.321
Tootill, Elizabeth
Facts on File Dktionary of Botany
581
J
581
Hutchins
J
581
Went
J
635.6
J
582
J
588.2
581
581
J
581
J
582
J
582.0166
J
582.13
J
583.55
J
584.2
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-ANSWERS
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Key for "Seed Word Search" activity:
L
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P A
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Example of possible answers to "Seeds We Eat" activity:
corn, wheat, oat, pea, bean, sesame, poppy, caraway, coconut, walnut,
peanut, nutmeg, coffee, cocoa, sunflower, rye, rice, mustard
Example of possible answers to "Seeds Animals Eat" activity:
bird/sunflower
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seed, horse/corn,
. . ..
insect/oat, squirrel/acorn
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Instructional Committee: JoyceAllen, Carol Coate,
Ann Harrigan, John Schultz, and RickVeatch
Editors: Dr. Christopher Davidson, Dr. Claude A.
Hanson, and Sally Trott
Designer: Sally Trott
SEED SENSE
A collaboration between the Idaho Botanical
Garden and the Boise. Independent School District
2355Old Penitentiary Road.
Idaho BotanicalGarden
P. O. Box2140 . Boise,Idaho 83712 . (208)343-8649