PLANTS

Giant sequoias are the largest trees on Earth. They can reach up to 90 metres in height and up
to 12 metres in diameter. They can live up to 3000 years, making them some of the oldest
living things on Earth. Sequoia trunks have a fibrous, thick bark with no resin, wich makes them
resistant to fire. In fact, sequoias depend on forest fires to reproduce: heat from fires makes
their seed cones open and release their seeds. Fires also help to clear the ground and facilitate
germination.
PLANT CLASSIFICATION
All plants can be classified into two main groups: non-flowering plants and seed producing
plants.
NON-FLOWERING PLANTS
Non-flowering plants do not produce flowers and seeds. They reproduce with spores. These
are special cells with a resistant covering. Spores can form new plants. There are two types
non-flowering plants: mosses and ferns.
Mosses
Mosses are very small plants that live in humid and shady places. Their spores are inside a
capsule at the end of a long filament.
Ferns
Ferns are much larger than mosses. They grow in humid and shady places. The spores are
inside dark spots, called sori, on the underside of the leaves. The leaves are called fronds.
Seed producing plants
Seed producing plants reproduce with seeds. There are two types of seed producing plants:
gymnosperms and angiosperms.
Gymnosperms
Gymnosperms do not produce flowers and fruits. They produce seeds which are grouped
together in cones. Gymnosperms can be evergreen trees or shrubs. Pine trees and firs are
gymnosperms.
Angiosperms
Angiosperms are flowering plants. They produce flowers and fruits which contain the seeds.
They can be evergreen or deciduous trees, shrubs or grasses. Poppies are angiosperms.

PLANT SENSITIVITY
Plants have sensitivity. Like animals, they can detect changes in the environment and respond
to them. These changes are called stimuli and include light, gravity, water, temperature
changes, and, sometimes, touch. Plant responses are slower than animal responses, except for
touch. Touch responses are quick and temporary.
In response to touch, parts of some plants move quickly and return to their original position
after a while. The leaves of the Venus flytrap have hairs that detect touch, and close quickly
when an insect comes in contact.
Plant responses often result in the plant growing in a particular direction. As a response to
light, plant stems and leaves usually grow towards light. As a response to gravity, plant roots
grow downwards. As a response to water, plant roots grow towards moist soil.
Deciduous plants detect changes in light and temperature in autumn and response by losing
their leaves.
PLANT NUTRTION
Unlike animals, plants make their own food. They take in water, mineral salts and carbon
dioxide. Then, using sunlight, plants transform these substances into their food. This process is
called photosynthesis.

Plant take in substances

Plants absorb water and mineral salts from the soil through their roots. The mixture of water
and mineral salts is called raw sap. It travels up the stem to the leaves through fine tubes
called xylem vessels.
Plants take in carbon dioxide through tiny openings, called stomata, located in the leaves.
Plants make their own food
Raw sap combines with carbon dioxide and transforms into elaborated sap through
photosynthesis. This process need sunlight, which is trapped by a green substance called
chlorophyll, found inside specialized organelles called chloroplasts. During photosynthesis,
oxygen is released through stomata.

Nutrients travel to all parts of plant

Elaborated sap is distributed from the leaves to all parts of a plant through other tubes, called
phloem vessels. The non-green parts of the plant, which are unable to carry out
photosynthesis, get their nutrients from elaborated sap.
Plant respiration
Plants take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide through a process called respiration.Plants
combine oxygen with nutrients to produce energy for growth.

Through photosynthesis, plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen during the
day.
Through respiration, plants take in oxygen and released carboone dioxide day and
night.

Plants produce more oxygen than they take in, so other living things use this oxygen to
breathe.
PLANT REPRODUCTION
There are two types of plant reproduction: sexual and asexual.
Sexual reproduction
Sexual reproduction happens in flowers, the reproductive organs of plants. Stamens are the
male reproductive organs of a flower, and consist of a filament and a anther where pollen is
produced.
The pistil is the female reproductive organ, and consists of the stigma, the style and the ovary
where the ovules are contained.
Pollination
For plants to reproduce, pollen is transferred from the anther of a flower to the stigma of the
same flower or a different one. This process is called pollination and can be performed by
animals, such as birds and insects, or by wind or water.
When a pollen grain reaches an ovule in the ovary, fertilization occurs. The fertilized ovule
forms a seed and the ovary develops into a fruit.
Seed dispersal
Different types of fruits facilitate seed dispersal, allowing plants to grow in the other places.
Seeds can be dispersed by animals, wind or water.
Germination
When seeds reach the ground, they germinate. This means they start to grow into new plants.
This process, called germination. need water, warm temperatures and oxygen. During
germination, the food store in the seed provides energy for the growth of the new plant.

ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION
Asexual reproduction happens when plants use parts of themselves to reproduce. The new
plant has the same characteristics as the plant it comes from, for example, the same-coloured
flowers.
Asexual reproduction does not involve pollination or fertilization.

Tubers. They are underground stems that develop roots, like potatoes. The stems and
roots emerge from growing points called eyes.
Rhizomes. They are specialized stems that grow horizontally underground, like in irises
and ginger.
Bulbs. They are underground stems with leaves that store food, like onions and garlic.
Roots grow from the bottom of the bulb.
Stolons. They are specialized stems that grow horizontally above the ground, like in
strawberries.