Everything in this universe has a beginning and humans
usually keep looking for answers to solve the mystery of how it all began. Well
I don’t know much but I do know how a plant nurtures. I start it all. Seeds
develop from the ovules in the female plant, so in order to develop into seeds,
the ovules must first be fertilised by the pollen from the male plant. Once
fertilized I am formed, a seed.
Have you ever seen a seed in your favourite fruit or
vegetable? Like humans, I come in all shapes and sizes. I take different forms
I am very small but I grow into huge trees, shrubs and vines. Some of the
humans think it’s amazing that all the different plants come from this small
seed. Everything has components they are made of I am a tiny seed with an embryo that will develop into roots,
trunk, branches, leaves and fruits. After maturing, seeds go into a state
called dormancy. While they are dormant the seeds are scattered and dispersed.
Development of the seeds, from fertilisation to shedding of the ripe seeds, can
take several weeks or even months
Until the seed germinates it is dormant. I am a marvel, all I need to develop into a plant is soil,
water and sunlight. The largest seed in the world is the double coconut. It can
measure up to 50cm (1.6ft) around the middle.
If you eat a fruit or vegetable that has me in it, don’t
throw me away, dig a small pit, put me in it and pour some water, after weeks
I’ll be smiling at you with my little branches and leaves. Seeds provide the
world's daily food. Your breakfast cereal and toast, your pasta or pizza lunch
and your rice dish, the tea that you take, your round chappati, all started
life as seeds from different grasses.
Seeds are used by humans for a number of purposes. The most
important of those uses are as foods. Some seeds are eaten directly, while
other are used to manufacture flour, starch, oil, or some other edible
products. From the moment I am formed to the very moment I become a plant I
serve humans. I make forests which is the habitat of many animals that children
go to zoo to see like lions, deers, zebras etc.
You know in a way I am life itself, because no living being
can survive without oxygen and without me life would be in danger. So if I
could ask the children to do one thing, it would be to plant more trees and
take care of them.
What hurts me is the fact that people don’t value plants
much, it takes ages for me to develop into a big strong tree, shrub or a herb
of medical benefit, they cut the plants down in a jiffy, without ever thinking
that how strenuous was the process. I hope that children will start to
understand the value of seed and a full grown up plant.
