Germination. Computer artwork showing the germination and vegetal development of a dicotyledon plant. The radicle, or embryonic root, is the first part of the seedling to emerge from the seed and grows downwards. Next the hypocotyl, or embryonic shoot, emerges and pushes upwards out of the soil. The first leaves, the cotyledons, are protected by a sheath, the coleoptile. As the plant grows, true leaves form and the root system matures.
