Did you know: Where did the first seeds come from?

From the delicate dandelion to the majestic oak tree, millions of plant species use seeds to reproduce and grow. But where did the first seeds come from?

Seeds have played a vital role in helping plants evolve and adapt to their environment. They add beauty to the natural world and provide food and medicine to humans. It is difficult to imagine the world without seeds.

Seeds dispersed from dandelion plants. (Source: Getty Images).

Plants began using seeds to reproduce during the late Devonian period , about 419–359 million years ago. Although scientists have not yet determined the exact evolutionary origin of seeds, the earliest recorded fossils date from the Famennian period, about 372 million years ago.

One notable example is the fossil Elkinsia polymorpha, discovered in West Virginia, USA. The plant had seed-bearing shoots—an evolutionary novelty at the time, according to the University of California, Berkeley Museum of Paleontology. Scientists have also found other ancient seed fossils in Europe and China.

According to Professor Gerhard Leubner, a plant biochemist at Royal Holloway University, London, plants began developing seeds not long after they moved from water to land, about 450 million years ago.

Horse chestnut. (Source: Getty Images).

Originally, the world was dominated by ferns that reproduced by spores, from which seed plants evolved.

Some ancient plants such as mosses, algae and ferns still reproduce by spores . A spore is a single cell containing the DNA of the parent plant, while a seed is a more complex structure formed from the union of pollen from a male plant and ovules from a female plant.

Spores require high humidity to survive, while seeds have a tough protective coat and the ability to store nutrients, making them adaptable to a wide range of habitats.

"Seeds are not only more durable than spores, but can also survive harsh conditions thanks to their protective coat and ability to store energy," explains Leubner .

Outstanding advantages of seeds

Seeds can 'sleep,' delaying germination until conditions are favorable. This flexibility allows them to survive and thrive in a wide range of environments, from arid deserts to humid forests.

Dormancy is the 'secret weapon' of seeds , says Charles Knight, a plant evolutionary biologist at California Polytechnic University . 'They can travel not only through space but also through time. Seeds can lie dormant in the soil for hundreds, even thousands of years before germinating ,' Knight says.