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Ngā kākano ❘ Seeds

Kua ruia atu te kākano – kātahi ka aha?

Mēnā ka tau te kākano ki tētahi wāhi arotau, ka tinaku, ā, ka pihi he tipu hou.

E uhia ana te kākano e te kahukano.

Kei roto i te kākano te kikiri (te punua tipu) me tōna pātaka kai.

Ka uruuru mai te wai me te hāora ki te kākano, ka whakamahana ngā hihi o Tama-nui-te rā i te oneone, nāwai, nāwai, ā, ka pihi mai te punua pakiaka me te wana.

The seed has been sown – what next?

If the seed lands in a favourable spot, it will germinate and the new plant will sprout.

The seed coat covers the outside of the seed.

Inside the seed are the embryo and food stores.

Water and oxygen enter the seed through the micropyle, the Sun heats the soil, then the embryonic shoot and root sprout from the seed.

Images showing the germination of a sunflower seed.

Tinakutanga

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Ko ngā āhuatanga matua e tinaku ai tētahi kākano ko te wai, ko te hāora, ko te mahana (o te oneone me te hau takiwā).

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Rights: Manatārua: bogdanwanko, 123RF Ltd
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He aha ngā momo tupu e whai ai i ngā kākano? 

He rerekē te tikanga a tēnā momo tupu, a tēnā momo tupu e whai ai i ngā kākano, mō te taha ki te whakaputu kai mā te tupu hou. Waihoki, he rerekē te putanga o te tupu hou a tēnā momo, a tēnā momo i te tinakutanga.

What are the different types of seed-producing plants?

The different types of seed producing plants each store food for the new plant in a different way. They also differ in how the new plant emerges from the seed during germination.  

Conifers, monocotyledons and dicotyledons produce seeds.

Ngā momo tipu e whai ai i ngā kākano

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Ngā rākau koroī, ngā tipu pātaka-moke me ngā tipu pātaka-rua. Kei runga ake, ka kitea te kahikatea, te kauri, te harakeke, te nīkau, te kōwhai, me te tītoki hei tauira.

Image acknowledgements: Kahikatea, cbeard, CC BY-NC 4.0, sourced from iNaturalistNZ; Kauri and tītoki, Wayne Bennett, CC BY-NC 4.0; Harakeke, Roger Culos, CC BY-SA 3.0; Nīkau, Grey Smith, CC BY-NC 4.0, sourced from iNaturalistNZ; Kōwhai, Phil Bendle, CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 NZ.

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Rights: Manatārua: The University of Waikato Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato
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Te tinakutanga o ngā kākano: te tipu pātaka-rua

Ko tā ngā pātaka, koirā ngā pātaka matua o roto i ngā tupu pātaka-rua. He wāhanga ērā pātaka o te kikiri, nō reira, e rua ngā huinga o ngā pūira tō ia pātaka - tētahi nō te tupu whaea, ā, tetahi nō te tupu matua. 

I ngētehi wā ka tipu ngā pātaka hei rau tuatahi o te tupu hou, ā, ka pihi ake ki runga ake i te oneone i te tinakutanga. Heoi, mō ētahi atu momo, pērā i ngā pī, ka noho kei raro kē i te oneone.

Germination of dicotyledon seeds

The cotyledons are the main food store in dicotyledons. The cotyledons form part of the embryo. Therefore, they have two copies of each chromosome – one from the mother plant and one from the father.   

They sometimes act as the first leaves of the new plant and often sprout above ground during germination. However, in some species (such as peas), they stay below ground.

Diagram showing the germination of a dicotyledon.

He hoahoa mō te tinakutanga o te pātaka-rua

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Ngā wāhanga o te kākano me te tinakutanga o ngā tupu pātaka-rua. Te pīne hei tauira. He maha ngā momo rākau pātaka-rua kei roto i ngō tātou ngahere, pērā i te kawakawa, i te manakura me te tītoki.

Go here to download a PDF of this diagram.

Ngā hoahoa/whakaahuatia nā Designua, 123RF Ltd. 

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Rights: Manatārua: The University of Waikato Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato
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Te tinakutanga o ngā kākano: tipu pātaka-moke

Ko te ‘endosperm’ te pātaka matua kei roto i ngā kākano pātaka-moke. He pūtautau te ‘endosperm’ e whakaahuatia ana i te whakatōnga. Kei a ia ngā huinga e toru o ia pūira – e rua nō te tupu whaea, ā, kotahi nō te tupu matua. 

Ko te mahi matua o te pātaka kei ngā kākano pātaka-moke, ko te whakawhiti i ngā kai mai te “endosperm” ki te wana me te punua pakiaka. Kāore te pātaka i te pihi ake te kākano. Engari anō te wana, ka pihi kē mai i te kākano kei roto i tētehi kahukano. 

Germination of monocotyledon seeds

In monocotyledons, the single cotyledon absorbs resources from the endosperm and transfers them to the new shoot and root. The cotyledon does not sprout from the seed. The new shoot emerges from the seed within a protective shield called the coleoptile.

The endosperm is the primary food storage organ in most monocotyledons. The endosperm is a tissue formed during fertilisation. It has three copies of each chromosome – two from the mother plant and one from the father plant. 

Diagram showing the germination of a monocotyledon,

He hoahoa mō te tinakutanga o te pātaka-moke

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Ngā wāhanga o te kākano me te tinakutanga o ngā tupu pātaka-ru. Te kānga hei tauira. Ko ngā rākau pātaka-moke ki roto i te rohe nei, ko te nīkau me te tī kōuka.

Ka taea e koe te PDF o tēnei ripanga te tikiake i konei.

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Rights: Manatārua: The University of Waikato Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato
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Te tinakutanga o ngā kākano: rākau koroī

He aha te rerekētanga o ngā kākano koroī i ngā kākano o ngētehi atu momo tupu?

Ko te ‘gametophyte’ te pātaka matua o ngā kākano koroī. Ko tā te ‘gametophyte’ he whakaputa i te pūtau hema-uwha, ā, kei a ia kotahi huinga anake o ngā pūira o te tupu whaea.  

Ko te mahi matua o ngā pātaka o te kākano koroi, hei rau tuatahi mō te tupu hou. Neke atu i te 20 ngā pātaka kei roto i ngā kākano o ngētehi momo rākau koroī. Te nuinga o te wā, ka pihi ai aua pātaka ki runga ake i te oneone.  

Germination of conifer seeds

What is the difference between conifer seeds and those of other plants?

The main food storage organ in conifer seeds is the gametophyte. This is the structure that produces the egg cell and contains a single copy of the mother plant’s chromosomes. 

The main function of cotyledons in most conifers is as the first leaves of the new plant. Some conifer species have more than 20 cotyledons within their seeds. Conifer seeds usually sprout these above ground during germination.

Seed & seedling of a conifer labeled illustration in te re Māori

Ngā kākano me ngā wana o te rākau koroī

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Ko te koroī te taihemahema o tēnei rōpū rākau. Mā te hau ngā kākano o te rākau koroī e kawe, ka tau ki te whenua. Nāwai, nāwai, ā, ka pihi ake he rākau hou. Ko te kahikatea me te mataī ngētehi rākau koroī kei roto i te rohe nei. Waihoki, ko te tōtara, te miro me te rimu.

Ka taea e koe te PDF o tēnei ripanga te tikiake i konei.

Te whakaahua o te wana o te rākau koroī nā anest, 123RF Ltd.

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Rights: Manatārua: The University of Waikato Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato
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Download

This resource is available as a te reo Māori only Word document file for kura to adapt as required.

Ngā kākano

WORD•2.72 MB

He kōrero kōpūtahi ❘ Related content

  • Ngā rākau

  • He aha hoki tērā rākau?

  • Te haenga me te ruinga o te kākano

  • Ngā rau o te rākau

  • He pūnaha whakarōpū

Mō te tūpono he ngākau whakapuke koe ki ēnei kaupapa:

You may also be interested in:

  • Seeds, stems and spores – introduction 

  • Student-led investigations about seeds

  • Seed dispersal

Watch our webinar He rauemi reo Māori mō ngā rākau – Te reo Māori plant resources for an overview of the bilingual resources created with Dr Norm Mason. 

Use this suite of activities to collect, observe and plant kōwhai seeds. 

Ngā hono ❘ Useful links

  • Kākano – Paekupu

  • Calendar for seed collecting seeds for trees and shrubs – Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai

  • Native seed bank – RNZ

  • Collect seed and propagat native trees and shrubs – Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai

He whakamihi

Tēnei te mihi nui ki a Mokoro Gillett (Tumuaki o Te Wharekura o Te Rau Aroha) rāua ko Norman Mason (Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research). Tēnā kōrua.

Acknowledgements

Thank you to Mokoro Gillett (Principal of Te Wharekura o Te Rau Aroha) and Norman Mason (Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research).

Glossary

Published: 30 August 2022
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