Germination is the process by which a plant grows from a seed. The most common example of germination is the
sprouting of a
seedling from a
seed of an
angiosperm or
gymnosperm. In addition, the growth of a
sporeling from a
spore, such as the growth of
hyphae from
fungal spores, is also germination. Thus, in a general sense, germination can be thought of as anything expanding into greater being from a small existence or
germ.