Seeds can lie dormant in soil for years and still sprout once light and moisture improve.

The longer version

Dormancy lets a seed wait through conditions that would kill a seedling. A hard coat can block water and oxygen, or the embryo may need a period of cold, warmth, or light before it will start growing at all.

This is why soil holds a bank of viable seeds from past seasons. Disturbance that brings a buried seed to the surface, where light and temperature change, can break the block. Different requirements spread germination over time, so a single season's crop does not all sprout at once. Coats scarred by passing through an animal, or cracked by freezing and thawing, often let water in at last.

Where this entry sits

Plants and Trees gathers ordinary and surprising details about how green things live, from the tallest forest giants down to the moss on a garden wall. Expect notes on flowers, seeds, roots, leaves, fungi, and the quiet tricks plants use to spread and survive. The full list sits on the Plants and Trees page, where every entry is listed in order.