‌It is one of the most valuable trees in the world, especially in the Philippines, where its parts are used for food and traditional medicine. Its leaves and seed oil are major materials in the food and nutrition industry (Palada, 2015).

 

Its most common use is its young tender fruits, the okra, which can be eaten fresh or cooked as a vegetable. However, the leaves, flower buds and flowers can also be eaten. Its seeds can also be processed as a stimulant - roasted and grinded for use as non-caffeinated substitute for coffee (Saifullah & Rabbani, 2009).

The two cells will then divide into quadrants. Furthermore, the cells near the quadrant will divide vertically, while the cells at the upper vesicular will undergo repeated transverse division. The quadrants will then divide into octants, and with periclinal division will form the dermatogen.

As development progresses, the periblem and plerome will differentiate. All the regions that the octants formed will then form into a single terminal cotyledon. The lowermost cell of the suspension divides vertically to form the plumule. Furthermore, the middle cell undergoes repeated division to form the hypocotyl and radicle.

Phase 1 of seed germination initiates seed growth. This starts when the seeds absorb water through imbibition (Segovia et al., 2007). Water imbibition is the first step in seed germination. It stimulates the embryo to produce phytohormones, particularly gibberellic acid (GA) which diffuses to the aleurone layer, initiating a signaling cascade that results in the synthesis of α-amylases and other hydrolytic enzymes. These hydrolytic enzymes then secrete into the endosperm and hydrolyzed food reserve, such as starch, lipid, protein hemicellulose, polyphosphate, and other storage materials which are hydrolyzed into a more simple and available form for more efficient embryo uptake (Ali & Elozeiri, 2017).  Imbibition starts with the entry of water to the seed, which is distributed in the seed cover and absorbed by the seed tissue. Furthermore, rupture of the seed coat will then stimulate water intake. This allows the seed to resume its metabolic activities, restore membrane and organelles, and activates enzymatic systems.

Phase 2 immediately follows hydration. Seed imbibition triggers biochemical and cellular processes. This involves the reactivation of metabolism - which also stimulates the resumption of cellular respiration and the biogenesis of mitochondria, along with the translation and/or degradation of stored mRNAs, DNA repair, the transcription, and translation of new mRNAs, and the onset of reserve mobilization. These processes are followed by Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), which function as cellular messengers or toxic molecules on seed hydration (Ali & Elozeiri, 2017).

Finally, phase 3 - the protrusion of the radicle or radicle emergence is considered as the completion of germination. The visible protrusion of the radicle tip is a "transition point" that is characterized by the loss of desiccation tolerance and acts as a molecular checkpoint (in Arabidopsis, regulated by ABI5), a developmental molecular switch from germination to the "seedling program".

After seed germination, it is followed by mobilization of food reserves (lipids, carbs, and proteins) from the endosperm and cotyledon, which provides energy for the plant until it becomes photoautotrophic (Pritchard et al., 2002). The food reserves are converted into forms that are readily transported into their specific sites. Starch is the most common food reserve carbohydrates in seeds; this is then transformed into simpler sugars with the help of gibberellin. Gibberellin stimulates the synthesis of α-amylase and proteases enzyme (Bewley et al., 2013). The proteases activate the β-amylase, which, together with the α-amylase, converts starch to glucose. Oils are transformed into fatty acids by lipases, which are then converted into sugars. Moreover, storage proteins are transformed into amino acids by proteases, which are converted into nitrogen.

Tropism is a biological phenomenon in response to a stimulus. In plants, this mechanism allows the plant to adapt to its environment by growing towards or away from the stimulus (Mutherd et al., 2020). These factors, namely, light, gravity, and touch, influence plant growth

This is the direct response of plants to light. Plants have the ability to re-orient their shoot growth towards or away from the direction of light in order to enhance their ability to optimize photosynthetic capacity (Kathare & Huq, 2020). There are photoreceptors and hormones such as auxins in plants that detect light. Auxins are directed to the side of the stem that is furthest from the light. The accumulation of these auxin triggers elongation of the cells. 

This is the gravity-directed growth or the differential growth of the plant in response to gravity. Positive gravitropism is the growth towards the direction of gravity. This allows the plant to anchor deep into the soil and allows the roots to further grow into the soil allowing for greater ion and water absorption (Perrin et al., 2017). In contrast, negative gravitropism dictates the upward growth of the shoot system up towards the sun in the opposite direction of gravity which supports leaf positioning for photosynthesis (Chauvet et al., 2016).

Thigmotropism is the plant grown in response to touch or contact with an object. Positive thigmotropism can be associated with climbing plants in which they grow towards the stimulus; they have specialized structures called tendrils that stretch and twines around an object for support. Negative thigmotropism, on the other hand, can be seen with roots. As roots extend deep into the soil, they grow away from an object. This mechanism allows the root to grow unimpeded through the soil, allowing for better chances of acquiring their nutrients (Jaffe et al., 2002).