John Allan - Plants

Amazing Life Cycles PLANTS John Allan A maroon- eyed tree frog takes a rest on an insect eating Red Pitcher plant Words that look bold like this are in the glossary. Contents ISBN 978-1-913077 Copyright 2019 Hungry Tomato Ltd First published in Great Britain in 2019 by Hungry Tomato Ltd, The Old Bakery Studios, Blewetts Wharf, Malpas Road, Truro, Cornwall, TR1 1QH, UK Manufactured in the United States of America All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright owner What is a plant? Plants are living things which grow out of the ground. Most plants produce flowers, fruits, and seeds . Plants come in many different shapes and sizes. Trees and shrubs are also plants.

Most plants make flowers which are usually brightly colored. Flowers attract birds and insects. The birds and insects help the plant to reproduce . Grass is a plant which is eaten by many animals. We eat the fruits of an orange tree.

Mosses and ferns are plants which do not produce flowers. Mosses and ferns are plants which do not produce flowers.

They grow in places where there is not much light. Wheat is a type of plant with seeds that we call grain. We cannot eat the grain raw, but we can make it into flour and use it to make bread. AMAZING PLANT FACT A tree is a plant. Some trees can live for hundreds or even thousands of years. Ferns Moss

This bird of paradise plant has a flower that looks like a bird! The plants roots suck up water and nutrients from the soil to feed the plant.

Plants can make their own food inside themselves. The plants leaves use sunlight to make food for the plant. Leaves Stem Roots The plants stem carries food from the roots to the other parts of the plant. It also carries the leaves towards sunlight. Parts of a plant Plants have a root, stem, and leaves. Most plants have roots which grow in the ground.

The roots push down into the soil to hold the plant in place. Above the ground is the stem, leaves, and flowers.

The plants above are living stone plants. They have two thick leaves which look like stones, or pebbles, on the ground. The stems of some plants grow around other plants. Lianas (right), which grow in rainforests , do this.

The parts of a plant can come in many different shapes, sizes and colors. Liana stem A tree has a hard woody stem called a trunk. Tree trunk

Plant habitats A habitat is the place where a plant or an animal lives. Plants can grow in many different habitats including under the sea! This saguaro cactus grows in deserts. Plants live in most of the worlds habitats. The sharp prickles on a cactus are actually the plants leaves.

The prickles lose less water than normal leaves in the hot desert habitat. AMAZING PLANT FACT The greatest number of different plants grow in warm, wet rainforests. Pacific Ocean Arctic Antarctica Australia Africa Europe Asia South America North America Pacific Ocean Central America Southern Ocean Atlantic Ocean Indian Ocean Arctic/Antarctica frozen, snowy ground and icy seas Temperate grasslands areas that are dry in summer Tropical grasslands hot, dry areas with few trees Map key This map key shows you what the colours and pictures on the map mean. Warm, wet rainforest Cold forests Deserts dry land with little rain N S W Habitats map Tundra cold, windy places Cool, rainy forests E

In the ocean, long strands of seaweed grow under the sea. Seaweed is a plant without roots. It has a special part called a holdfast to keep it in one place.

On the cold, icy Arctic tundra plants, grow in clumps low to the ground to avoid the wind. AMAZING PLANT FACT Some Arctic plants have hairs on their leaves, stems, and buds to protect them. Seaweed uses the holdfast to cling to rocks.

Seeds and bulbs New plants can grow from a seed or a bulb. A seed is like a small case which contains everything needed to make a new plant. The black dots in this kiwi fruit are the seeds.

A bulb grows at the bottom of the plant under the ground. During the summer, the plant stores food in the bulb. In winter, the plant above the ground dies. When the weather becomes warmer, new leaves grow out of the bulb. Leaf Bulb Roots AMAZING PLANT FACT Insects, such as bees and butterflies, visit flowers to drink sweet nectar .

In the middle of the flower are the stamens, the male parts.

Each stamen has an anther at the top. The female part is called the carpel. It has a section called a stigma at the top. Insects, such as bees, carry pollen from the anthers of one flower to the stigma of another flower. This is called pollination . After pollination a seed is made.

This wasp is covered in pollen from the anthers of a flower. Most plants have flowers. The flowers anthers are covered in a fine yellow dust called pollen . Anther Stigma

Scattering seeds Plants have many ways of making sure their seeds find a way of leaving the mother plant and growing in a new place. Some plants are blown away from their mother plant by the wind. Each dandelion seed blows to a new place to live.

AMAZING PLANT FACT Birds eat seeds in fruit. The seeds pass through the birds and fall to the ground in their droppings. The seeds grow into new plants. This macaw is eating a green chilli.

Tumbleweed is a bush which breaks away from its roots in the autumn. The wind pushes it along the ground, and it scatters its seeds as it rolls along.