With that fuller explanation of what you
were seeking, I would give you a different
answer than I did before. The vanilla orchid
would certainly sprout from a microscopic seed
into a rather large vine, but I think the largest
disparity between seed and ultimate adult plant
is probably the Sequoia tree of the US west.
This tree has a seed as small as any mustard
seed, and certainly smaller than many mustards,
yet it can become the largest individual organism
on the planet. While some clonal organisms like
aspens and creosote bushes and some fungi may
be larger in aggregate, the Sequoia tree is the
largest individual unitary organism on our planet. By
large I mean massive. The tallest tree, also coming
from a tiny seed, is a close relative...the Coastal
Redwood. The Redwood is more slender than the
Sequoia, so while the Redwood is taller, there is more
mass, more tissue, in a Sequoia.
ross
> ----------
> From: Mardasee at webtv.net> Sent: Thursday, September 21, 2000 7:55 AM
> To: plant-ed at hgmp.mrc.ac.uk> Subject: Re: What is the smallest seed?
>>> Thank you for the reply, and for the e-mail replies.
>> What I was searching for I should have explained it in better terms. ---
> I was looking for the smallest seed that would produce the largest bush.
>> I was searching for a answer to a New Testament (bible) quote that
> mentions about the "mustard" seed. --- ( "It is the smallest of all the
> seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a
> large bush." )
>> I'm not a plant expert, so I posted here where all the experts on plants
> would be. --- My objective is to find out whether this bible quote is
> factual or not. It was wriitten hundreds of years ago. Written long
> before the planet was ever searched world wide by people, for new and
> different undiscovered plant species. --- This parable quote is in the
> New Testament "Matthew chapter 13:31-32" and is headed under; "The
> parable of the mustard seed."
>> Sorry for not explaining it fully the first time. I did not want anyone
> to think I sounded like a religious fanatic. I'm not a bible thumper,
> just investigating a little science for myself.
>>>
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