PLANTS Vocabulary Organisms are living things such as persons plants or animals Plants are organisms that exist in most places on Earth Hundreds of thousands of different species or kinds of plant grow on Earth Some plants are so tiny that people can hardly see them Some are grasses that spread over large areas Others are trees that grow as tall as very tall buildings Some are mosses that may live on other plants Most plants have several things in common They are not able to move around Their cells Mosses are tiny plants that grow on moist ground rocks or trees 4
have stiff walls made of a tough material called cellulose They also grow Plants grow nearly everywhere on Earth Most plants grow in soil but some plants do not need soil Plants called epiphytes can grow on other plants or on objects without getting nutrients from them Plants need sunshine water and air to grow All green plants use the sun’s energy water and a gas called carbon dioxide to make their food This process is called photosynthesis Bamboo is actually a type of tall grass that can look like a tree 5
LIFE CYCLE OF PLANTS A life cycle is a series of changes that happens to all living things as they grow and age The cycle begins with a seed a spore or special kinds of stems that can grow into another plant With the proper nutrients water and sunshine the plant grows to become an adult The adult plant may form flowers or another reproductive organ Then the plant produces new seeds or spores When wind water birds insects or other animals Pinecones contain the reproductive structures for plants called conifers 6
The flowering of plants like daffodils tulips and hyacinths is part of their life cycle disperse those the life cycle can begin again in a new plant All plants go through similar processes in their life cycles but in this book only plants that produce seeds will be described Think About It Plants native to the East Coast of the United States have been found growing on the West Coast How did those plants get so far from their original homes 7
