Seed Terminology


arillate seed - a seed with a fleshy outgrowth from the funiculus or integuments, the latter forming a fleshy seed coat.
endosperm - triploid food reserve in a seed derived from fusion of the polar nuclei with a sperm nucleus.
perisperm - diploid food reserve in a seed derived from the nucellus or integuments.
funiculus - the seed stalk - the stalk that attaches a seed to the fruit.
hilum - the scar on a seed left by the funiculus.
seed coat - the mature integuments of an ovule.
comose - a seed with a coma (tuft of hairs) at the apex, e.g., milkweed (Asclepias, Apocynaceae).
triquetrous - three-angled, characteristic seed shape of many knotweeds (Polygonaceae).