So I planted some date pits a little bit ago. They grew roots relatively quickly. I checked on the pot, and it seems like I'm getting a leaf. Something green. Only problem: this seed is not behaving like I thought. I was assuming that the sort of fissure on the seed is where growth would happen. The root came out of the other side. The green thing is now coming out of the root.
So my question is: what, anotomically, is going on here? Why is it so strange? I've grown seeds before, so I'm familiar with how they work with cotyledons and such. I have a coconut seedling that behaves like I think it would, but I didn't germinate it, so I don't really know if it was really as orthodox as it seems. What are dates doing?
These were Medjool dates, if that matters. Ive included a picture of the whatever is going on.
by donotlookatdiagram
4 Comments
germinating?
The first leaf will shoot out of upper part of what is already out of the seed.
Here’s a paper on the germination of palm seeds, which includes coconuts and dates:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304300439_Morphology_and_Anatomy_of_Palm_Seedlings
The two are essentially doing the same thing. Most of the seed bulk is the endosperm (whitish in colour), just that in the coconut the middle endosperm tissue becomes liquid. The embryo in both is very small and tucked away at one end of the seed, and emerges through the micropile (a small hole) in the seed’s surface when it germinates. I’m not sure that you get a clear view of the cotyledon as the seed germinates.
The green part is going to be the first strap leaf, it just so happens to be under the initial root.