PLANT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

Plant a seed in soil. Water it. Wait. Within days, a rootlet emerges and pushes downward. A shoot emerges and pushes upward. Leaves unfold. The plant grows taller. Lateral branches develop. Months later, flowers bloom. Seeds form. The mature plant stands in a completely different form than it began.

This transformation—from dormant seed to seedling to mature, flowering plant—involves coordinated growth, development, and differentiation. Growth is increase in size and mass. Development is orderly sequence of changes producing organism form. Differentiation is specialization of cells for specific functions.