Features

• Two cotyledons, or embryonic leaves, protect the germinating tissue organs. The cotyledons shield the emerging root (radicle), the first stalk (coleoptile) and the plummule as they push outward into the garden soil.
  
  

Benefits

• Once water is absorbed into the seed, growth begins. Food in the form of starches and proteins exist in the cotyledons and sustain the growth of the root and plummule in the infant bean plant.
  
  

Effects

• Once the radicle establishes, it begins to absorb water and soil nutrients to supplement what energy remains in the cotyledons. The plummule soon bursts through the soil to reach sunlight. Sunlight energy bathing the above-ground tissues causes the remaining energy in the cotyledons to be used for chlorophyll. The first leaves green up and unfurl. From that point forward, the seedling manufactures its own food via photosynthesis.