How do seeds know which way is up

[Gingermick]

?
Do they sense gravity?
If so then they are intelligent.
If so then they are waiting, planning to take over maybe?

[echnidna]

I think they hatch towards the light.

Ban Vegetarians - they are cruel to seeds :D

[martrix]

oh yes, they know whats going on. Haven't you seen The Day of the Triffids?:erm_smile:

[Schtoo]

Maybe not so much light, as warmth from the light.

Tis dark under the ground...

[DavidG]

Any one should know that the roots are heavier than the leaves so the roots fall down. :doh:

[kiwigeo]

?
Do they sense gravity?
If so then they are intelligent.
If so then they are waiting, planning to take over maybe?

Seeds respond to gravity in a process called geotropism. Under the soil the seed is not exposed to light so that isnt the driving force.

If you germinate a seed in the dark in a lab environment you can prove geotropism is at work by turning the turing the seed 180 degrees once the shoots and root emerge. Each time the seed is turned the root will turn down and the shoot will turn up. All this will happen in the absencve of light.

[Gingermick]

So I was right, they are planing to take over. We need to start ripping out all fertile soil, though some of the tricky ba$tards have managed to grow in the air
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[rhancock]

Didn't they test this on the Space Station? Or was that a sci fi novel?