LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Seeds: Species
built 218 days ago
There ... may be nutritional changes in seeds that are killed late in development. Although most of their oils and proteins are present, it is possible that seeds will start to deteriorate or will lack some minor component that is important. The functional properties of specific molecules in foods, for example, are just beginning to be appreciated and are likely to play important roles in preventing diseases. These possibilities require further study.
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At maturity, seeds of these species have no endosperm and are termed exalbuminous seeds. Some exalbuminous seeds are bean, pea, oak, walnut, squash, sunflower, and radish. Seeds with an endosperm at maturity are termed albuminous seeds. Most monocots (e.g. grasses and palms) and many dicots (e.g. brazil nut and castor bean) have albuminous seeds.
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Two highly desirable foods for wintering songbirds are black-oil sunflower seeds and white-proso millet. Offering these seeds will reduce waste and provide mass-appeal to a wide variety of species, but primarily seed-eaters and ground-feeders. Although millet is quite appealing to the lowly house or English sparrow - an introduced species that competes vigorously with bluebirds for nest cavities - it ... is a favorite of cardinals and other finches, juncos, mourning doves, even wild turkeys and bobwhite quail. Black- oil sunflower seeds are the biggest draw in bird feeding. They're credited with pulling in more than three dozen different bird species, including tufted titmice, white-throated sparrows, purple finches and especially evening grosbeaks that occasionally drift south of the Canadian border when the supply of various tree seeds in the northern woods fail to meet their needs.
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For some seeds, imbibing to much water to quickly can kill the seed. For some seeds, once water is imbibed the germination process can not be stopped and if the seed dries out again it is fatal. While other species have seeds that can imbibe and lose water a few times with out causing ill effects to the seed or drying can cause secondary dormancy.
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Some seeds, such as those of the willow, are viable (capable of growing into healthy organisms) for only a few days after falling from the parent tree. Other seeds are viable for years—for example, seeds of the Oriental lotus have been known to germinate 3000 years after dispersal. Each species of plant has its specific period of viability; seeds sown after the period of optimum viability may produce weak plants or may not germinate.
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No, in fact, only a few seeds need indoor starting - those that are very slow-growing or need a headstart where the season is short. The individual packet will tell you specifically when and where to plant.
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