Steps For Dissecting A Seed By Felipe Moreno

We learned on our botany leg that the seed contains the beginnings of a new plant.

In other words, seeds are able to reproduce the plant they came from.

There are millions of different kinds of seeds. We have been amazed at where we find them – like in the kitchen, on our hikes, and even in the grocery store.

Did you know that peanuts are really seeds?

Lately, Blaine and I have had this obsession with viewing things up close and inside out. So, we shot a quick email over to Felipe, our Argentinian friend and pampas expert, to ask him how to dissect a seed.

His response was so cool that we just had to share it with you all!

Steps For Dissecting A Seed

Bienvenidos, mis amigos!

So you want to know how to dissect a seed? Well, as a semi-famous gaucho-ballad singer, I thought I would teach you how with a song. Here it goes . . .

The twins want to see what is inside the seed
I told them a kidney bean is what you need
Start with some water and give it a good soak
Then pinch it very hard to remove the cloak

The small seed in your hand is alive, alive, alive
The baby plant can be found inside, inside, inside

Gently split the white bean embryo in two
Now the inside of the seed you clearly view
Observe the radicle, the soon to be root
And hypocotyl, known as the plant stem shoot

The small seed in your hand is alive, alive, alive
The baby plant can be found inside, inside, inside

At the tip, the epicotyl you may see
As the seed grows, from it the leaves will go free
Only the seed’s food store remains on display
Whose starchy goodness is the new plant's buffet

The small seed in your hand is alive, alive, alive
The baby plant can be found inside, inside, inside

Hope you enjoy! - Felipe

Wrap-up From The Twins

Wow – wasn’t that amazing, folks!

We thought we would break down the steps for dissecting a seed for you folks, just in case Argentinian folk ballads aren’t your thing.

Here are the steps you need to follow.

1. Get a kidney bean seed.
2. Soak it overnight.
3. Remove the outer covering.
4. Gently split the seed into two.
5. Observe the radicle (which will become the roots of the new plant), hypocotyl (which will be part of the shoot and connect the radicle to the epicotyl), epicotyl (will become the newly formed stem and leaves) and food store (which will feed the new plant as it grows).

We also wrapped another seed in a wet paper towel and placed it in a baggie. Then, we set the baggie aside for several days until the seed sprouted. Once it did, we followed steps 3 to 5 again. The time we were able to see the parts more clearly.

We had a blast looking at the inside of a seed and we hope you guys will too!