Germination is the process by which a plant grows from a seed. The most common example of germination is the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm. In addition, however, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the growth of hyphae from fungal spores, is also germination. Thus, germination can be thought of in a general sense as anything expanding into greater being from a small existence or germ, a method that is commonly used by many seed germination projects.