Seed Structure and Endosperm Types — NEET Biology
📚 Practice ConceptThe outermost covering of a seed is the seed coat. The seed coat has two layers, the outer testa and the inner tegmen. The hilum is a scar on the seed coat through which the developing seeds were attached to the fruit. Above the hilum is a small pore called the micropyle. Within the seed coat is the embryo, consisting of an embryonal axis and two cotyledons. The cotyledons are often fleshy and full of reserve food materials. At the two ends of the embryonal axis are present the radicle and the plumule. In some seeds such as castor the endosperm formed as a result of double fertilisation, is a food storing tissue and called endospermic seeds. In plants such as bean, gram and pea, the endosperm is not present in mature seeds and such seeds are called non-endospermous.
Which of the above statements are correct concerning the structure and function of different seed parts? S1: The hilum is a scar on the seed coat marking the point of attachment of the developing seed to the fruit wall. S2: The micropyle, a minute pore near the hilum, facilitates the absorption of water and oxygen essential for the embryo's metabolic activation. S3: Both plumule and radicle in dicot seeds are commonly encased within protective sheaths such as coleoptile and coleorhiza, respectively. S4: In non-endospermous dicot seeds, the food reserves are primarily stored in the fleshy cotyledons. S5: Seeds like castor are examples of non-endospermous dicots where the food reserves are solely stored in the cotyledons.
View solution & NCERT explanation
Correct answer: B — S1, S2 and S4 only
NCERT core concept: Different parts of the seed have specific structural features and functions crucial for its development and germination. S1 is correct. NCERT states: "The hilum is a scar on the seed coat through which the developing seeds were attached to the fruit." S2 is correct. NCERT mentions "Above the hilum is a small pore called the micropyle." It is a fundamental biological fact that the micropyle allows the entry of water and oxygen for the initiation of seed germination. S3 is NOT correct. The protective sheaths, coleoptile (enclosing plumule) and coleorhiza (enclosing radicle), are characteristic features of monocotyledonous seeds (e.g., maize), not dicot seeds. S4 is correct. NCERT states for dicot seeds: "The cotyledons are often fleshy and full of reserve food materials." In non-endospermous seeds (like gram and pea, which are dicots), the endosperm is not present in mature seeds, and the cotyledons serve as the primary food storage. S5 is NOT correct. Castor is an endospermic dicot seed, meaning it possesses a food-storing endosperm. Non-endospermous seeds are those where the endosperm is absent in the mature seed. Therefore, the statement incorrectly classifies castor and misidentifies its primary food storage location. Thus, the correct statements are S1, S2, and S4. Therefore, option B is the correct answer.
What does NCERT say about outermost covering seed seed?
Has this concept appeared in NEET?
Which chapter is this from?
Through deep analysis of NEET and NTA, 176 of the 180 ReNEET 2026 (June 21) questions were already in the MedicNEET question bank before the exam.
176/180MedicNEET's Biology question bank is built from the same NCERT lines NTA picks repeatedly. Not random MCQs — questions crafted exactly like NTA crafts them.