I recently had the opportunity to speak to 250 first and second graders about the topic of garden seeds. The very well-behaved group was quite intelligent. They asked some great questions and many knew the answers to my questions. So, let's see if you are as smart as they are.

What is a seed? For most plants it is an entire baby plant that is asleep. There is a very small root, stem and leaves inside the seed. Break a peanut in half and look at what appears to be a tiny bearded face stuck to one side. That is a whole miniature plant.

Where do seeds come from? They are mostly found in or on fruits and cones. Do all plants make seeds? No, some plants are algae, ferns or mosses that make spores or just break apart to form more plants.

Can you think of fruits with seeds inside? How about apples, blueberries, oranges, peanuts, pumpkins, tomatoes and watermelons? Can you think of any fruit with seeds on the outside of the fruit? How about strawberries?

Seeds want to run away from their mommies. They might have wings like maple seeds or a feather parachute like a dandelion that blows seeds into the wind. Some seeds are eaten by animals. What happens to the seeds inside a fruit when a bird, deer or person eats the fruit? Some get crushed, but some make it all the way through the digestive system. Do any of the seeds start to grow in your stomach? No.

Did you know there are some seeds that we can use to make drinks or to flavor ice cream? Coffee comes from coffee tree beans. Cola nuts are used to flavor some cola drinks. Beer comes from wheat and barley seeds. Chocolate comes from cocoa tree seeds and vanilla comes from orchid seeds.

Which seed do you think is the biggest and the smallest? The kids guessed avocado, mango and peaches as the biggest. There is a palm tree species called Coco de Mer that is far larger than a coconut and can weigh up to 40 pounds. At the other end of the spectrum some orchids, begonias and others have seeds the size of dust; a million would fit in a spoonful.

What kinds of seeds do you like to eat? Beans, peas, corn, popcorn, rice, wheat, sunflower, pumpkin, cashews, pistachios, sesame, poppy, walnuts, almonds, pecans? Can we eat every seed we find? No, some seeds are poisonous or may cause allergies, such as peanuts or the gluten in wheat seeds.

Here is a fun line of reasoning that you should ask any child. If you plant corn seeds what kinds of plants will you get? If you plant bean seeds what kind of plant do you get? What do you get if you plant grass seed? What happens if you plant birdseed? I had 250 kids yelling, "Birds!"

What can we do to wake up a seed? Can we yell really loud? Can we shake it? Set an alarm clock? Some seeds have to stay asleep until they have been cold for the winter. Some seeds would die if they were cold for the winter. Some seeds need to stay hot and dry while they sleep. Some seeds need to be heated up in a forest fire before they can wake up. Some seeds are found inside of fruit and the fruit part must come off before the seeds can wake up.

When a seed is ready to wake up, it might need to be in sunlight or it might need to be in the dark. The one thing that will wake up a seed is water. Water will soak into the seed's belly button and wake up the seed. Yes, really, seeds have belly buttons. But if a seed gets too much water it will drown.

What can we make with seeds? Many of the kids had made seed art projects but didn't know that you could also make breakfast cereal, corn chips, pasta, rice cakes, cooking oil, mustard, nutmeg and pepper. Cotton seeds have fibers to make clothes. Linseed oil is used in paints. Cosmetics, like hand cream and soap, can come from seeds. Some oils made from seeds can be used as fuel for a variety of cars.

We may eat a few plant roots, stems, flowers, fruit and even some tree bark now and then (cinnamon), but by far the plant part we eat the most is the seed. I know the kids have a new appreciation of how important seeds are, and I hope you do to.

Email questions to Jeff Rugg at [email protected]. To find out more about Jeff Rugg and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.