Whereas a vertebrate animal begins its life through exiting the mother's womb—either as an egg that must further develop and hatch, or as a newborn individual — in plants the new plant is "born" by germinating from the seed.
Despite differences in the fertilization process, the development of plant and animal embryos is similar. A plant embryo is contained within a seed, which provides the nutrients it needs to grow, while an animal embryo develops within an egg, outside the organism, or within a uterus, inside the female parent organism.
