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A biologist.^[ref]

Seed germination is renewed plant embryo activity and growth. Many germination assays score completion as radicle emergence, before seedling establishment. Seed imbibition precedes that endpoint; swelling alone is insufficient.^[ref]

Water, molecular oxygen and suitable temperature support germination; light sensitivity depends on the species and seed state. Neither illumination nor one particular temperature is universally required. Seed dormancy connects germination timing to ecology by delaying seedling establishment.^[ref]

The distinction matters when comparing propagation experiments: a treatment that increases radicle emergence need not improve later seedling survival. Define the endpoint before comparing treatments, then measure the later outcome separately.

A living seed's restriction on germination under otherwise favorable conditions, distinct from insufficient water, unsuitable temperature or lost seed viability. One failed test cannot diagnose seed dormancy.^[ref]

Initial seed water uptake, permitting renewed metabolism. Hydration does not prove seed viability or imply the idealized hydraulic law for capillary imbibition.^[ref]

A biologist.^[ref]