NOTE ON SEEDSA seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering. The formation of the seed is part of the PROCESS of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosperm plants.  Seeds are the product of the ripened ovule, after fertilization by pollen and some growth WITHIN the mother plant. The embryo is developed from the zygote and the seed coat from the integuments of the ovule.  Seeds have been an important development in the reproduction and success of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants, relative to more primitive plants such as ferns, mosses and liverworts, which do not have seeds and use water-dependent means to propagate themselves. Seed plants now dominate biological niches on land, from forests to grasslands both in HOT and cold climates.  The term "seed" also has a general meaning that antedates the above – anything that can be sown, e.g. "seed" potatoes, "seeds" of corn or sunflower "seeds". In the case of sunflower and corn "seeds", what is sown is the seed enclosed in a shell or HUSK, whereas the potato is a TUBER.  Many structures commonly referred to as "seeds" are actually dry fruits. Plants producing berries are called baccate. Sunflower seeds are sometimes sold commercially while still enclosed within the hard wall of the fruit, which must be split open to reach the seed. Different groups of plants have other modifications, the so-called stone fruits (such as the peach) have a hardened fruit layer (the endocarp) fused to and surrounding the actual seed. Nuts are the one-seeded, hard-shelled fruit of some plants with an indehiscent seed, such as an acorn or hazelnut. NOTE ON FRUIT FORMATIONAfter pollination and fertilization, carpels develop into the fruit tissue we eat (ovary) and the seeds within (ovules). Fruit development is initiated by growth regulating hormones produced by developing seeds. Because carpels ultimately develop into fruit tissue, the number of carpels in a flower determines the degree to which pollination and seed development is required to produce fruit. Flowers with one carpel only require fertilization of one of the two ovules to produce fruit. In contrast, species with multiple fused carpels require fertilization of a smaller proportion of the total ovules within a flower for fruit development. The growth regulating hormones produced by a subset of the total possible seeds are sufficient to initiate the development of fused carpels into fruit. As a result, normal fruit development is less dependent on seed development in species with multiple fused carpels.HOPE IT HELPSHAVE A GREAT DAY!!!