Due to their structure, low water content and mechanisms such as dormancy and desiccation tolerance, orthodox seeds are able to survive for long periods and harsh environmental conditions.
These features enable the timing of seed germination to weather conditions that are favorable for germination and further seedling development.
It has therefore been concluded that the evolution of seeds was one of the major reasons for the rapid distribution diversification and dominance of seed plants, in particular angiosperms that evolved more than 130 million years ago
(Crane et al. 1995; Friedman 1998; Linkies et al. 2010; Wang et al. 2009).