AbstractBy observing the imbibition of dyed water, soybeans were classified into damaged (break in seed coat), normal and hard beans. Hard soybeans were unique in having a long, variable lag time before start‐ing imbibition, but once water uptake was started, the rate was similar to that of normal beans. Soaking hard beans in methanol or ethanol for 24 hr at 20 C made them permeable to water. The cuticle was the most likely site of the water barrier in the seed coat of soybeans.