why some seeds have cotton and plume ?
Answers
Answer:
They can grow because the fibers in cotton attract and hold water while allowing some free space for air to penetrate. This is true if the cotton is not submerged in water or is filled with water such that the seed is trapped in water. Seeds grow not because the cotton has minerals or nutrients required by the plants. Remember cotton fibers are almost all cellulose that plants cannot absorb and will take time to break down therefore the seed grows because it just needs water and oxygen to activate the enzymes in its seedcoat and endosperm/cotyledon to breakdown stored food into usable glucose for the seed to germinate and grow. With these, seeds can grow almost in any medium provided that they have just enough water and oxygen. *grown plants need carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to photosynthesize and provide oxygen for themselves but seeds do not need CO2 and require sufficient oxygen to germinate because they are not photosynthetic yet and the break down of starches/lipids to glucose requires aerobic respiration, hence, oxygen.