This wildflower was finished blooming and was forming seeds. But its seed head sprouted green leaves! Fascinated, I looked closer. Some of new seeds were actually germinating and sprouting while still in the seed head. Usually, they wait until they are in the perfect place (soil, moisture, temperature, sunlight) to begin new growth. Sometimes you see this while seeds are still inside the fruit, like a tomato or green pepper. In plants, it is called vivipary (Latin for 'live birth') and involves seeds germinating before their determined time. I first learned about this a few years ago when my grandson sent me a photo of a sunflower seed head that was doing the same thing.
