Q.In gram (Bengal gram), the cotyledons are pushed above the soil surface on an elongating hypocotyl during germination, while in maize the cotyledon stays below the soil and only the plumule emerges. This contrasting pattern is described respectively as:

[!TLDR]

Gram raises its cotyledons above the soil (epigeal); maize keeps its cotyledon below the soil (hypogeal).

[!ANSWER]

(b) Epigeal and hypogeal germination

In gram, the hypocotyl (the axis region below the cotyledons) elongates and arches upward, carrying the cotyledons bodily above the soil surface -- this pattern is called epigeal germination. In maize, by contrast, it is the epicotyl (the region above the cotyledon) that elongates, so the single cotyledon (scutellum) stays below the soil while only the plumule, protected by its coleoptile, emerges into the light -- this pattern is called hypogeal germination. 'Vivipary' refers to a different phenomenon entirely (seeds germinating while still attached to the parent plant, as in mangrove species) and is not relevant here.

[!ANSWER]

(b) Epigeal and hypogeal germination

Identify which embryonic axis region elongates in each case: hypocotyl elongation lifts the cotyledons above ground (epigeal, gram); epicotyl elongation leaves the cotyledon below ground (hypogeal, maize).

Swapping the two terms -- remembering 'epigeal' as 'below ground' by confusing the prefix, when in fact epigeal means the cotyledons emerge ABOVE ('epi-') the soil.