After a flower has been pollinated the contents of the pollen pass into the ovary and seeds are made. The seed has a tough protective coat that stops small insects and fungi attacking it. Inside the seed is a tiny plant. It has a root and a shoot. There is a store of food in the seed which the tiny plant uses when it germinates.

The ovary turns into a fruit as the seeds are made and helps the seeds to disperse. When the seed reaches favourable conditions it takes in water through a small hole in its coat and germination begins. The tiny plant uses the food to grow. First the root bursts out of the seed and searches for more water. The shoot then bursts out of the seed and grows towards the light so that it can make food.

The seed is used by the plant for reproduction and for spreading the plant species to new habitats.