Endosperm is:

Endosperm is:

• A. A protective outer layer
• B. The seed coat
• C. A food source for the embryo consisting of proteins, carbohydrates, or fats
• D. Pollen grain

Answer: (C)

Endosperm is the nutrient-rich tissue inside many seeds that nourishes the developing embryo. It forms after double fertilization in flowering plants, becoming triploid and storing carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. This makes it the food source for the embryo during germination, providing energy and building blocks until the seedling can photosynthesize. The protective outer layer is the seed coat (testa), and the pollen grain is a male gametophyte, not nutritive tissue, so those choices describe other parts. Some seeds have little or no endosperm if the embryo uses it entirely, but its primary role and composition fit the description of a food source for the embryo.

Endosperm is the nutrient-rich tissue inside many seeds that nourishes the developing embryo. It forms after double fertilization in flowering plants, becoming triploid and storing carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. This makes it the food source for the embryo during germination, providing energy and building blocks until the seedling can photosynthesize. The protective outer layer is the seed coat (testa), and the pollen grain is a male gametophyte, not nutritive tissue, so those choices describe other parts. Some seeds have little or no endosperm if the embryo uses it entirely, but its primary role and composition fit the description of a food source for the embryo.