Many seeds are so small that their beautiful features escape us.
Many others, although large enough to see easily, are such
common, everyday objects that we do not really see them. They
are, however, worth our careful observation. The first and most
obvious beauty in most true seeds is in the perfection of their
simple forms. Their outlines or silhouettes exhibit endless
variations in the curve of beauty. In their entirety, too, we
find wide ranges of proportion and different graceful and simple
masses that are pleasing to look upon. The sphere is a thing of
beauty in itself, although quite unadorned. Artists have tried
to produce nonspherical "abstract" forms that possess such grace
and proportion as to call forth a satisfying emotional or
intellectual response in the beholder. Some of the nicest of
such forms lie all about us, unnoticed, in seeds. The commonest
are such basic forms as the sphere, the teardrop, and the ovoid
and other variations of the spheroid. Some of these curving
shapes are flattened, el