Fruit and seeds look similar because they grow on plants, but they’re very different. Fruits are the soft parts of the plant that we often eat, and they help protect and spread seeds. Seeds are the tiny parts that can start a new plant life. We’ll explore the five main ways that fruits and seeds are not the same.
Learn about the different looks and jobs of fruits and seeds. We’ll explain how their special features help them do their important work for plants.
Table of Contents
1. Fruits Have Soft Covers but Seeds Are Tough
The easiest way to tell fruits and seeds apart is by looking at them. Fruits have a soft part on the outside that covers the seeds. Think about biting into a squishy raspberry or a ripe tomato. This part of the fruit tastes good and makes animals want to eat it and carry the seeds away. It also keeps the seeds safe when animals eat them.
Seeds are built to last a long time and to be strong. They have a hard shell around them that keeps the baby plant inside safe from getting too dry or being hurt. Even though seeds are small, they have everything they need to grow into a new plant when the time comes.
Fruits are like a yummy, soft backpack for seeds. They help seeds get to new places where they can grow. This shows how fruits and seeds have different but important jobs in making more plants.
2. Seeds Can Grow into New Plants, but Fruits Can’t
Inside every good seed is a tiny new plant, just waiting to grow. When the soil, water, and sunlight are just right, this little plant starts to grow roots and leaves. A seed also has some food inside to help the new plant get a strong start.
Fruits don’t have these baby plants in them. They can’t grow into new plants. Their job is to look after the seeds and make sure they get to the right place to grow.
So, fruits take care of the seeds and seeds grow into new plants. This way, plants make sure they will have babies that can live in new places.
3. Fruits Are Full of Good Stuff but Seeds Save Their Food
When we eat a piece of fruit, we get lots of good things like vitamins and sugars. These things help both animals and people stay healthy.
Seeds don’t have as much food inside for us to eat. Most of their food is saved up for the new plant that will grow from the seed. This stored food helps the new plant until it can make its own food from the sun.
Plants are smart and put lots of good things in the fruit so animals will want to eat it and then take the seeds to new places. Seeds only keep enough food to help the new baby plant start growing.
4. Lots of Seeds Inside One Fruit
Most of the time, a fruit will have not just one seed, but many. Think about how many seeds are inside a watermelon or a pumpkin! Having lots of seeds makes it more likely some will grow into new plants.
Every seed can be a little different from the others, even if they come from the same fruit. This is good for the plant because it means there’s a better chance some of the seeds will grow even if the weather changes or there are other challenges.
Even though a fruit might have lots of seeds inside, the fruit itself is just one big piece. All the fruits on a plant are pretty much the same. But inside, the seeds are all different from each other, which means there’s a wide mixture of new plants waiting to grow.
5. Seeds Travel, but Fruits Stay Put
The last big difference is about moving around. Seeds are made to travel to new places. They can float on the wind, be eaten and then pooped out by animals, or get stuck on fur or feathers and be carried away. Going to new places helps the plant spread and grow in more areas.
But fruits just hang onto the plant until they’re ripe. Then they might fall to the ground, but they don’t go any further than that. It’s the seeds inside the fruits that are ready to go on an adventure.
Fruits keep the seeds safe right where they started. But the seeds are all about exploring and finding new places to grow. They work together so that plants can live both here and in other places, too.
They Need Each Other
Even though fruits and seeds are very different, they need each other a lot. Seeds use fruits to stay safe, get food, and travel. And fruits need seeds to help make new plants for the future.
This special connection lets plants keep making new generations. Next time you enjoy a fruit, think about the seeds inside. They may be small, but they can grow into amazing new plants one day.
