# What Is the Smallest Plant Seed?
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Background
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Orchids are members of the Asparagales group of plants, which includes asparagus, amaryllis, onions, irises, daffodils, agaves and yuccas. They are a recent introduction to the plant world, emerging over 90 million years ago. Orchids grow everywhere in the world except Antarctica.
Seeds
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Orchids produce dust-like seeds in large quantities, usually over a million seeds per plant. The seeds are so tiny that it would take 1.25 million of them to weigh just one gram -- about as heavy as a paper clip.
Germination
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Orchid seeds lack an endosperm, which is a seed's typical food source. To germinate, it forms a relationship with a specialized fungi that lives in the soil. The fungi provides food not only during the seed stage, but throughout the entire life of the orchid plant. In return, the orchid supplies the fungi with sugars and starches.
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