Endosperm is the tissue that nourishes the embryo in many seeds.

Endosperm is the tissue that nourishes the embryo in many seeds.

• A. Aleurone Layer
• B. Endosperm
• C. Testa
• D. Tegmen

Answer: (B)

The key idea is that a seed’s nutrition for the developing embryo is stored in the endosperm. This tissue often forms after double fertilization and is typically triploid, serving as a rich reservoir of starch, oils, and proteins to fuel early growth before the seedling can photosynthesize. During germination, the aleurone layer—a peripheral part of the endosperm—releases enzymes that mobilize these stored nutrients for the embryo, but the endosperm itself is the main nutritive tissue. The other structures, the seed coat components testa and tegmen, are protective outer layers derived from the outer and inner integuments, not sources of nourishment.

The key idea is that a seed’s nutrition for the developing embryo is stored in the endosperm. This tissue often forms after double fertilization and is typically triploid, serving as a rich reservoir of starch, oils, and proteins to fuel early growth before the seedling can photosynthesize. During germination, the aleurone layer—a peripheral part of the endosperm—releases enzymes that mobilize these stored nutrients for the embryo, but the endosperm itself is the main nutritive tissue. The other structures, the seed coat components testa and tegmen, are protective outer layers derived from the outer and inner integuments, not sources of nourishment.