Seed vs Nut
Seed and Nut are two words that are often confused as referring to one and the same thing. A seed is the unit of reproduction in a flowering plant. It is actually in the form of grain. It is to be understood that a seed of a flowering plant is capable of developing into another such plant.
Sometimes the word ‘seed’ is used to refer to a collection of seeds too as in the expression ‘the field is full of seed’. In this expression the word ‘seed’ is used in the collective sense and not in the sense of a single seed. It is interesting to note that you can find the seeds in fruits.
The seeds of some of the fruits are edible whereas the seeds of some other fruits are not edible in nature. Edible seeds are used in the preparation of salads too. The seed of fruits like apple, orange, lime and the like are not edible in nature.
One of the main differences between seed and nut is that a nut is a fruit whereas a seed is not a fruit but it can be seen in a fruit. A nut is a fruit that consists of a hard or tough shell around an edible kernel. This is the reason why the edible kernel itself is sometimes referred to as nut.
Sometimes the word ‘nut’ refers to a pod containing hard seeds. One of the main examples of nut is the betel nut. It is hard in nature and has to be broken into pieces to be taken along with betel leaves to facilitate digestion. Another important difference between seed and nut is that a seed can be sown whereas a nut cannot be sown.
Is the cashew a seed or a nut?
If a nut cannot be sown then how does the plant propagate?