In botany, a seed is a plant embryo and food reserve enclosed in a protective outer covering called a seed coat (testa). More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds are the product of the ripened ovule, after the embryo sac is fertilized by sperm from pollen, forming a zygote. The embryo within a seed develops from the zygote and grows within the mother plant to a certain size before growth is halted.
Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spores of fungi, ferns, bacteria, and the growth of the pollen tube from the pollen grain of a seed plant.
Veronica chamaedrys, the germander speedwell, bird's-eye speedwell, or cat's eyes, is a herbaceous perennial species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae.
Veronica officinalis, the heath speedwell, common gypsyweed, common speedwell, or Paul's betony, is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. It is native to Europe and western Asia. It has been introduced to North America and is widely naturalised there.
Veronica is the largest genus in the flowering plant family Plantaginaceae, with about 500 species. It was formerly classified in the family Scrophulariaceae. Common names include speedwell, bird's eye, and gypsyweed.
Veronica persica is a flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae. Common names include birdeye speedwell, common field-speedwell, Persian speedwell, large field speedwell, bird's-eye, or winter speedwell. It is native to Eurasia and is widespread as an introduced species in the British Isles, North America, eastern Asia, including Japan and China, and Australia and New Zealand.
Ammophila arenaria is a species of grass in the family Poaceae. It is known by the common names marram grass and European beachgrass. It is one of two species of the genus Ammophila. It is native to the coastlines of Europe and North Africa where it grows in the sands of beach dunes. It is a perennial grass forming stiff, hardy clumps of erect stems up to 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) in height. It grows from a network of thick rhizomes which give it a sturdy anchor in its sand substrate and allow it to spread upward as sand accumulates. These rhizomes can grow laterally by 2 metres in six months. One clump can produce 100 new shoots annually.
Veronica hederifolia, the ivy-leaved speedwell, is a flowering plant belonging to the family Plantaginaceae. It is native to Europe, western Asia and north Africa and it is present in other places as an introduced species and a common weed. Solitary blue flowers occur in leaf axils, each with a corolla up to one centimetre (0.4 in) wide. The fruit is a dehiscent capsule.
Veronica serpyllifolia, the thyme-leaved speedwell or thymeleaf speedwell, is a perennial flowering plant in the plantain family. It is native to Europe, but can be found elsewhere on most continents as an introduced species.
Veronica derwentiana, commonly known as Derwent speedwell, is a flowering plant species of the family Plantaginaceae, endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a perennial with toothed leaves and white or pale blue flowers in terminal sprays in spring and summer.
Torilis japonica, the erect hedgeparsley, upright hedge-parsley or Japanese hedge parsley, is a herbaceous flowering plant species in the celery family Apiaceae. Japanese hedge parsley is considered both an annual and biennial plant depending on the biogeographical location. This means Japanese hedge parsley can complete its life cycle in either one or two growing seasons depending on habitat. Japanese hedge parsley is typically found in areas with disturbed soils, pastures, margins, open woodland, near waste sites, or right-of-way habitats. It can withstand a variety of habitats, thriving in partial and full shaded areas, but also withstanding habitats with full sunlight penetration. It is considered an aggressive invasive species in North America; invading a wide range of habitats due to its environmental tolerance and tendency to outcompete native vegetation. This species is considered a threat in several areas that causes problems relating to overall environmental health and stability. Aside from its environmental implications, T. japonica has potential to fight several cancers through a terpene it produces called Torilin, extracted from its fruits.
Veronica odora, known as the boxwood hebe, mountain-box, Hebe odora or Hebe buxifolia, is a plant in the family Plantaginaceae, and it is native to New Zealand. Veronica odora was discovered on the Auckland Islands by J.D Hooker in 1840. A certain amount of confusion later arose following its collection on mainland New Zealand by Ernst Dieffenbach and its naming as Veronica buxifolia by George Bentham. Even overseas, Veronica odora is still not infrequently known as Veronica buxifolia.
Veronica anagallis-aquatica is a species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae known by the common names water speedwell, blue water-speedwell,brook pimpernel.
Veronica filiformis is a species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae. It is known by many common names, including slender speedwell, creeping speedwell, threadstalk speedwell and Whetzel weed. It is native to eastern Europe and western Asia, and it is known in many other regions as an introduced species.
Veronica perfoliata, commonly known as digger's speedwell, is a common perennial herb found at higher altitudes in south-eastern Australia. It is a low-growing multi-stemmed plant rising from a woody rootstock. It has rounded blue-grey foliage and sprays of intense violet-blue flowers at the end of arching branches. It is occasionally cultivated as a garden plant.
Paysonia stonensis is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, known by the common name Stones River bladderpod. It is endemic to Tennessee in the United States, where it is limited to Rutherford County. It grows only in the floodplains of the Stones River, and certain tributaries.
Veronica plebeia, commonly known as creeping- or trailing speedwell, is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Plantaginaceae. It is native to Australia and New Zealand.
Veronica calycina, commonly known as hairy speedwell or cup speedwell, is a flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae. It is a trailing perennial with dark green leaves, purple-blue flowers and is endemic to Australia.
Veronica gracilis is a plant belonging to the family Plantaginaceae, commonly known as slender speedwell. It is a perennial herb with slender branches, variable shaped leaves and small lilac flowers in spring and summer.
Veronica jovellanoides, commonly known as Riverhead speedwell, is a threatened flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae. It is endemic to New Zealand, where only three plants are known in the wild. All are found within the Ernest Morgan Reserve, a 20 ha forest northwest of Auckland. Its discovery is accredited to a retired plant nursery owner, Geoff Davidson, who organised the land's protection a few decades prior, and found it by chance on a walk in November 2007.
