Botanical characters 7 i 



The endosperm (Fig. I $c) consists of a store of prepared CHAP. 

 food-material which the growing embryo absorbs for use in IV ' 

 the formation of new cells and tissues, in developing a root- 

 system with which to absorb food-materials directly from the 

 soil, and a leaf-system capable of photosynthesis (II 65). 



The seeds of some plants (e.g. the castor-bean and the 



Fig. 16. — Germinating maize grains, showing developing shoot, primary 

 root, root-hairs and adventitious roots. (11 66.) 



lucerne) contain no endosperm, but store in the cotyledons a 

 supply of food-material for the use of the growing seedling ; 

 such seeds are sometimes spoken of as ex-albuminous, in 

 contradistinction to the albuminous or endosperm-bearing 

 seeds. 



64. Germination. — The commencement of growth in a 



