THE PLANT KINGDOM
CHARACTERISTICS OF PLANTS
- Plants are one of the oldest living organisms on the earth.
- Plants are living organisms which need air, water and sunlight to survive.
- Plants provide food to other living organisms.
- Plants play a very vital role as they provide oxygen for living organisms on earth for their survival.
- Plants gives us many things such as wood, medicines, paper, furniture etc.
- Plants helps in keeping environment fresh and cool.
- Plants are mainly of two types - terrestrial and aquatic.
- Plants which grow on the land are called terrestrial plants, e.g. papaya tree, mango tree, neem tree etc.
- Plants which grow in water are called aquatic plants, e.g. Water lily, lotus, bonsai etc.
- On the basis of structure, plants are divided into mosses plants, grasses, dicots and monocots.
- Dicots and monocots include big plants shrubs or bushes, climber, creepers etc.
- Big plants are tall, voluminous trees e.g. mango tree, banyan tree, oak tree, neem tree etc.
- Herbs are mainly used for flavor and scent and have medicinal value. They are used for cooking purpose, e.g. basil, tulsi leaves, spinach mint, coriander leaves.
- Shrubs or bushes are smaller woody plants and have and short stem. e.g. rose plant, cotton etc.
- Creepers plants grows along the soil surface and has weak stem and spread on a long distance. They can be flowering or non- flowering, e.g. pumpkin, bottle gourd etc.
- Climber plants have very soft and weak stem. They grow only with the help of support.
- They can be both flowering and non-flowering, e.g. beans plant, jasmine plant etc.
- Mainly, a plant has roots, stem, leaves, flower, fruits and seeds, e.g. picture of parts of a plant.
- We get food from different parts of plants. We get cereals, pulses, wheat, fruits and vegetables, spices, sugar, tea, coffee, mustard oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil from plants.
- Different parts of a plant and their function are as follows.
Parts
|
Functions
|
(1) Roots
|
Main part of a plant. It absorbs water and mineral from soil and sends it to the other parts of a plant.
|
(2) Stem
|
It gives support to the plant and acts as food storehouse
|
(3) Leaves
|
They are different shapes and sizes. The leaf is called the food factory of the plant because it makes food by the process of photosynthesis
|
(4) Flower
|
Most attractive part of a plant. They are reproductive parts of a plant
|
(5) Fruits
|
They come from flowers
|
(6) Seeds
|
A tiny embryo inside the fruit
|