Parts of a Grain Kernel

A wheat kernel cut open: name the bran, endosperm and germ, then the layers of the bran.

Parts of a Grain Kernel

Name Date

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Bran
  2. Endosperm
  3. Germ
  4. Brush
  5. Crease
  6. Pericarp
  7. Seed coat
  8. Aleurone layer

Own drawing from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the wheat plant it grows on

All 8 parts on the diagram

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The kernel 5

  1. Bran The outer skin of the kernel, made of several layers.
  2. Endosperm The largest part, the food supply for the germ.
  3. Germ The embryo, which can sprout into a new plant.
  4. Brush A tuft of short hairs at the top end.
  5. Crease A deep fold that runs along one side of the kernel.

The outer layers 3

  1. Pericarp The fruit coat, which makes the outer layers of the bran.
  2. Seed coat A thin coat under the pericarp, joined tightly to it.
  3. Aleurone layer The endosperm's outermost layer. Millers count it as bran.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-01 and kept only where two of these use it. (1) Whole Grains Council, What's a Whole Grain?, https://wholegrainscouncil.org/what-whole-grain : the kernel is made up of three edible parts, the bran, the germ and the endosperm; the bran is the many-layered outer skin; the germ is the embryo, which can sprout into a new plant; the endosperm is the germ's food supply and by far the largest portion; refining usually strips the bran and the germ. (2) Wikipedia, Whole grain, Bran, Cereal germ, Aleurone and Caryopsis, text only, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_grain , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bran , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleurone and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caryopsis : a whole grain contains the endosperm, germ and bran, a refined grain only the endosperm; bran is the hard outer layers, aleurone and pericarp together; the aleurone layer is the endosperm's outermost layer; in a grain the thin seed coat is fused to the pericarp. (3) Cereal science texts, passages read through archive.org's full-text search: Wheat: Chemistry and Technology (1964 and 1971), https://archive.org/details/wheatchemistryte0000ihly (fruit coat or pericarp, seed coat, aleurone layer, starchy endosperm, the hairs that make up the brush, the crease); Cereal Science (1969), https://archive.org/details/cerealscience0000unse (brush, crease, germ end, outer pericarp, aleurone layer, starchy endosperm); Principles of Cereal Science and Technology (1986), https://archive.org/details/principlesofcere0000hose (pericarp, seed coat, aleurone, germ, endosperm). Licence: own work

The drawing: Own drawing from plain geometry; nothing traced. Not to scale. Licence: own work

How it works

A grain kernel is the seed of a cereal plant such as wheat. It has three edible parts: the bran, the endosperm and the germ. The drawing cuts a wheat kernel open to show them.

Read the full guide

The three parts

The bran is the outer skin. The endosperm is the large middle, the food supply for the germ. The germ, the embryo, can sprout into a new plant. A whole grain food keeps all three. Refining usually strips the bran and the germ and leaves only the endosperm.

Inside the bran

The second view enlarges the edge. The pericarp, or fruit coat, lies outside, the thin seed coat under it, then the aleurone layer, one row of cells that botanists count as endosperm and millers as bran. On wheat a brush of short hairs stands at one end and a crease runs along one side.

  • For a first lesson, stay on the first view and quiz only bran, endosperm and germ.
  • The quiz takes embryo for germ, testa for seed coat and fruit coat for pericarp.

Questions and answers

What are the three parts of a grain kernel?

The bran, the endosperm and the germ. The bran is the outer skin, the endosperm is the large starchy middle, and the germ is the small embryo at the base.

Which part of the kernel is in white flour?

The endosperm. Refining usually strips the bran and the germ, so white flour is milled from the endosperm alone. Whole wheat flour keeps all three parts.

Is the aleurone layer part of the bran or the endosperm?

Both answers are used. It is the outermost layer of the endosperm, but it comes away with the outer coats in milling, so millers count it as part of the bran.

What is the crease of a wheat kernel?

A deep fold that runs the length of the kernel on one side. Cut the kernel across and the crease shows as a groove reaching in toward the middle.

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