1) The future of the seed is partly predetermined by events (flower formation, flowering, nutrient flow from mother plant, etc.) preceding fertilization and the formation of the gametophyte. 2) The environmental conditions under which the seed matures affect its final physiological constitution. This faet has mostly been neglected by seed physiologists. 3) It is not known how far the triantic nature of the diaspore (seed coat, pulp, etc., 2n of mother plant, embryon of δ +n of Φ, endosperm 2n of Φ +n of δ) affects seed development and germination. 4) The integuments of the ovules of some species have stomata. It is not known if they are functional in gas exchange or are constitutional non-functioning relics. 5) The causes of the growth-degeneration pattern of the nucellus are unknown. 6) During the development of the megaspore mother cell into the mature embryo sac dramatic cellular ultrastructural changes take place. This probably signifies a “change of guards” during which the gametophyte is freed from part of the controls by the ultrastructural units of the mother plant, preparing the ground after fertilization for a new, genetically independent sporophyte. 7) Upon closer examination, the seemingly simple processes of fertilization and embryogenesis, as described in textbooks, turn out to be very complex and full of problems. Is the role each male nucleus plays preordained or is it left to chance which male nucleus goes where? What causes the degeneration of the synergids and of the vegetative nucleus, and what protects the other two male nuclei from a similar fate? Which ultrastructural organelles are carried by the generative nuclei into their respective receptor cells and what is their role in them? Why do zygotes in some species develop after fertilization immediately into an embryo whereas in other species the zygote remains dormant for some time? What causes the polarity of the egg cell which, after fertilization, divides into one developmentally most active apical cell (giving rise to the embryo) and into another “lazy” basal cell which develops into the suspensor of “unknown function?” 8) In the source-sink relationship between photosynthesizing organs and the maturing seed there is one point at which the photosynthates pass from symplast to apoplast to symplast. The mechanism involved is largely unknown as well as the effect which environmental conditions have on this transport.