Q.Draw and label the parts of a maize seed.

The maize grain is technically a fruit (caryopsis) in which the fruit wall is fused with the seed coat; internally it has a large endosperm and a laterally placed embryo with one cotyledon (scutellum), a sheathed plumule, and a sheathed radicle.

(This answer describes and labels the structure in words, since a hand-drawn figure cannot be rendered here.)

External layer: the maize grain is technically a caryopsis (a fruit), in which the thin fruit wall (pericarp) is completely fused with the true seed coat (testa), so they cannot be separated - this fused covering forms the outermost layer.

Bulk of the grain - endosperm: beneath the pericarp lies the large, food-storing ENDOSPERM, which makes up most of the grain's volume. Its outermost layer of cells, rich in protein, is called the ALEURONE LAYER; the rest is the STARCHY ENDOSPERM, packed with starch grains.

Embryo: positioned to one side of the grain (not centrally), the embryo consists of:

• SCUTELLUM - the single, shield-shaped cotyledon of this monocot embryo, pressed against the endosperm and absorbing food from it during germination. …