Cucumber Cotyledon

These are pictures of my cucumber seedlings, and I wanted to share them as a great example of the seedling growth process.

First, some terminology: the two rounded leaves on the plant are called the cotyledon. The cotyledon is part of the embryonic plant in the seed, so this pair of leaves are the plant's first photosynthetic parts. Cucumber plants are dicots; this means they have two cotyledon leaves.

However, these cotyledon leaves are not "true" leaves of the plant. The subsequent leaves that the plant grows may appear quite different from the cotyledon - and now, I hope you can understand why I took these pictures! The first true leaf of the cucumber looks very different than the cotyledon, in terms of its shape. As well, the true leaf appears to have a more complex vascular system, and have several pointed ends.

I can't wait to see how these seedlings continue to develop. I'll be sure to keep you posted, dear reader!