Question

Non-endospermic seeds are found in -
(a)Wheat
(b)Castor
(c)Barley
(d)Bean

Answer 1

Hint: Seeds that do not have endosperm have cotyledons, and they have fleshy seeds. They also are a characteristic of the leguminous plants. Endospermic seeds do not have fleshy cotyledons but thin and papery ones.

Complete answer: - In any seed, the nutrition to the developing embryo is provided by either the endosperm or the cotyledon.
- The endosperm is formed as a result of double fertilization in angiosperms. If the endosperm is the nutrition provider, the cotyledons are very thin and papery. The seeds having this structure are known as endospermic or albuminous seeds. Examples include wheat, castor, barley, etc.
- When cotyledons are the provider of nutrition, they are fleshy and endosperm is absent. Examples of non-endospermic seeds are beans, peas, and squash.

Additional information: - In endospermic seeds, the perisperm is not formed from the nucellus, while in non-endospermic seeds, the perisperm is formed from the nucellus.
- In endospermic seeds, the embryo is covered by the endosperm and the testa. In non-endospermic seeds, the embryo is enclosed by the testa because the endosperm almost degrades in the mature seed.
- Another type of food storage for the plant embryo is the perispermic seed. Perisperm is the diploid maternal tissue that originates from the nucellus. It is found only in a few plants such as beetroot, black pepper, coffee, etc.

So, the correct answer is ‘bean’.

Note: - In angiosperms, the process of double fertilization leads to the formation of a diploid embryo and the triploid endosperm.
- Non-endospermic seeds are also known as ex-albuminous seeds.
- There are three forms of endosperm formation: nuclear, cellular, and helobial endosperm formation.