Book excerpt: Seed Biology, Volume I: Importance, Development, and Germination is a part of a three-volume treatise, which aims to bring together a large body of important information on seed biology. Organized into six chapters, this book begins with a discussion on the importance and characteristics of seeds. Separate chapters follow that discuss the development of gymnosperm and angiosperm seeds, as well as the anatomical mechanisms of seed dispersal. Other chapters focus on the morphogenetic events involved in the germination and the scientific basis for the concept of physiological predetermination or seedling vigor, including the potential application of this concept in agriculture, forestry, and management of natural resources. This work will be useful to various groups of research biologists and teachers, including plant anatomists, pathologists, and physiologists as well as agronomists, biochemists, ecologists, entomologists, foresters, and horticulturists.