Page 65 - ICSE Science 3 : E-book
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Fruit

                    A fl ower turns into a fruit. Fruit is the
                    fl eshy eatable part of the plant. It

                    contains seeds in it. Diff erent  fruits             a few seeds                        single large
                    contain diff erent types and numbers                 in an apple                          seed in a
                                                                                                              mango
                    of seeds. For example, an apple
                                                                                       many seeds in a
                    contains a few small seeds, while a                                 pomegranate

                    mango contains a single large seed. A                        Diff erent fruits with diff erent
                    pomegranate has many small seeds.                            types and number of seeds


                    Functions of the fruit


                    •  A fruit’s main function is to enclose and protect the seeds.

                    •  Fruits of most of the plants are eaten by us such as orange, mango and apple.


                    Seed

                    Seeds are the small hard structures produced by plants. They are mostly enclosed
                    inside the fruit. Seeds come in diff erent sizes, shapes and colours. Some seeds

                    appear very small in size like grains while some appear very big. They may be oval,
                    spherical, or kidney-shaped. Seeds can be yellow, green, white, brown or of some

                    other colour.


                    Functions of the seed
                                                                                                   Did You Know!
                    •  A seed’s major function is to give rise to a new plant.                       Not all plants

                                                                                                   grow from seeds,
                    •  We eat seeds of plants like wheat, rice, corn, and gram.
                                                                                                     for example,
                       Such seeds are called edible seeds.                                              banana.

                    Structure of a Seed


                    Although seeds diff er in size, shape and colour, they have common parts. These
                    include the seed coat, the embryo (baby plant) and the cotyledons.

                    •  The seed coat is the tough and hard outer covering of the seed. It has a tiny

                       hole through which the seed gets water. It protects the embryo inside the seed.

                    •  The embryo is the baby plant inside the seed. As the seed matures with the
                       help of sunlight, air, food and water, the baby plant grows into a seedling.



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