1.2.1 Embryo The embryo is composed of the embryonic axis and one or more cotyledons. The axis is composed of the embryonic root (radicle), the hypocotyl to which the cotyledons are attached, and the shoot apex with the first true leaf primordia (plumule), These parts are usually easy ta discem in the embryo of dicotyledonous (dicot) (Figs. 1-1, 2.2), but in the embryos of monocotyledonous species (monocots), particularly the Gramineae, identifying them is considerably more difficult. Here, the single cotyle- don is much reduced and modified to form the scutellum (Figs. 1.1, 2.3); the basal sheath of the cotyledon is clongated to form a coleoptile covering the first leaves, and in some species (e.g.. maize) the hypocotyl is modified to form a mesocotyl. The coleorhiza is regarded as the base of the hypocotyl sheathing the radicle. seeds (Fig. |.1). Cotyledons of endospermic seeds are often thin and flattened since they do not store much in the way of reserves (e.g., castor bean): in non-endospermie seeds, such as those of many of the legumes, the cotyledons are the site of reserve stor- age (embryonic storage tissue) and account for almost all of the seed mass (Fig. 1.1) Cotyledons of non-endospermic, epigeal (Fig. 5.1) species (such as some members of the squash and legume bean family) that are borne above the ground after germina- tion and become photosynthetic are relatively not as large, nor do they contain as much stored reserves as the subterranean, hypogeal type (Fig. 5.2). The cotyledons are absent from seeds of many parasitic species; in contrast, the embryos of many coniferous species contain several cotyledons (polycotyledonous) (Fig. 1.1) In the Brazil nut, much of the edible kernel (embryo) is the hypocotyl, which is unusually large and is the site where the stored reserves are deposited. Polyembryony, i.e., more than one embryo in a seed, occurs in some species, e.g. Poa alpina, Citrus, and Opuntia spp. This can arise because of division of the fertilized egg cell to form several zygote initials, development of one or more synergids (accessory cells in the embryo sac), the existence of several embryo sacs per nucellus, and the various forms of apomixis. In flax and other species some of the embryos formed by polyembryony are haploid. Not all seeds contain mature embryos when liberated from the parent plant. The final developmental stages of the embryo occur after the seed has been dispersed, e.g.. ash spp., catrot (Fig. 6.2b), and hogweed, Orchid seeds contain minute and poorly formed embryos, with no storage reserves, and no endosperm (Fig. 6.2a). Their further development and germination requires that they first form a symbiotic association with soil fungi or other microorganisms,