They're Growing Up So Fast

Today is March 25 and three of my baby plants have sprouted and are growing strong. Two of my corn plants  and one of my carrots are racing to reach their full potential. One of the corn plants is stuck under soil though still, poor little guy. 

The structure of my baby plants include: root hairs, nodes, internodes, primary roots, lateral roots, leaves, tap roots, adventitious roots, cuticles, dermal tissue systems, cotyledons, coleoptiles, buds, and terminal buds. The structures have the following functions:

Root Hairs: Hairlike outgrowths of the roots that absorb water and minerals from the soil. They are tubular extensions of the epidermis that greatly increase the surface area of the roots. 

Nodes: Part of the stem that bears the leaf. 

Internodes: Part of the plant between two nodes. 

Primary Roots: The first root produced by a germinating seed that develops from the radicle of the embryo. 

Lateral Roots: Roots that extend horizontally from the primary root to support the plant and grip onto the soil. 

Leaves: Expanded, green organs of the plant produced by the stem. The main photosynthetic organ of the vascular plants. 

Tap Roots: The main vertical root that develops from the embryotic root and gives rise to lateral roots. This is not found in monocots. 

Adventitious Roots: Smaller lateral roots that grow from the tap root. 

Cuticles: A waxy covering on the surface of stems and leaves to prevent desiccation in terrestrial plants.

Dermal Tissue: The outer protective covering of plants. 

Cotyledons: The seed leaf of an angiosperm embryo. 

Coleoptiles: The covering of the young shoot of the embryo.

Buds: The small axillary or terminal protuberance on a plant, an undeveloped or rudimentary stem or branch of the plant. 

Terminal Buds: The dominant bud. 

Seeds, Seeds, and More Seeds

It is now March 19th and I have realized that germination is a slow, lengthy process. It is necessary for plant life though, thus I must sit patiently, watering my plants and allowing them to get sunlight. The optimal conditions for my plants include: temperature between 10 degrees Celsius and 35 degrees Celsius, multiple periods of light, and a good amount of water. I believe that the plants will enjoy their new home very much.

Now onto their little seeds! Before they germinated and sprouted, they started off as little seeds in the soil. The seeds are tiny plants in a suspended state of development with a protective coating. Now, monocot and dicot seeds are different, but the basic structure is the same. Corn is monocot. 

The seed coat is the outer shell from the embryotic sack. The endosperm is the food supply containing three sets of chromosomes. Two of these chromosomes are from the mother and one from the father. The embryo is the immature part of the plant. The cotyledon is the seed leaf. The plumule is the shoot and the radicle is the root. 

Carrot is dicot. 

The seed coat is the outer shell from the embryotic sack. The plumule is the shoot and the radicle is the root. The hypocotyl is the stem and the cotyledon is the food storing seed leaf. 

New Home, Fresh Start

Today on March 14th, I brought my baby carrot and baby corn plants home. They reside comfortably on my windowsill to receive daily sunlight. I water them when needed and tend to them as any mother would. Carrots are dicot plants and corn are monocot plants. Hopefully, they will begin germination soon. Germination is the process in which a seed sprouts into a plant.

This process begins with the seed coat rupturing from the absorption of an abundance of water. The seedling then begins to sprout from the ruptured seed coat. At this point anaerobic respiration occurs, later followed by aerobic respiration. The tip of the root emerges first and the seed becomes anchored to the earth to obtain nutrients. A stalk and leaves will then begin to be produced. The corn will produce one leaf and the carrots will produce two seed leaves that hold food for the plant. Related to the corn are other monocots, including: rice, wheat, barley, grasses, and lilies. Related to the carrot are other dicots, including: beans, roses, potatoes, tomatoes, and violets.