AMAZING+PLANTS

=AMAZING PLANTS  = 
 * **Plants** are living organisms. They include trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae.
 * There are about 350,000 types of plants. Plants can be grouped as seed plants, bryophytes, ferns and fern allies.
 * There are 287,655 species of plants. 258,650 are flowering and 18,000 are bryophytes**.**
 * Green plants obtain most of their energy from sunlight through a process called photosynthesis.

= What Do Different Plant Parts Do? =  P lant parts do different things for the plant.  = Roots = Roots act like straws absorbing water and minerals from the soil. Tiny root hairs stick out of the root, helping in the absorption. Roots help to anchor the plant in the soil so it does not fall over. Roots also store extra food for future use.  = = = Stems = Stems do many things. They support the plant. They act like the plant's plumbing system, conducting water and nutrients from the roots and food in the form of glucose from the leaves to other plant parts. Stems can be herbaceous like the bendable stem of a daisy or woody like the trunk of an oak tree.  = Leaves = Most plants' food is made in their leaves. Leaves are designed to capture sunlight which the plant uses to make food through a process called photosynthesis. = Flowers = Flowers are the reproductive part of most plants. Flowers contain pollen and tiny eggs called ovules. After pollination of the flower and fertilization of the ovule, the ovule develops into a fruit. = Fruit = Fruit provides a covering for seeds. Fruit can be fleshy like an apple or hard like a nut. = Seeds = Seeds contain new plants. Seeds form in fruit. = = = = = = =Plant Basics =  = = > >
 * If you're not a microbe and you're not an animal, chances are you are a plant.
 * There are loads of species of plants on Earth.
 * Plants adapt well to any climate. Scientists have made a way to organise the hundreds of thousands of types of plants. 

**Herbaceous:**
Plants with stems that are usually soft and bendable. Herbaceous stems die back to the ground every year.

**Woody:**
Plants with stems, such as tree trunks, that are hard and do not bend easily. Woody stems usually don't die back to the ground each year.

**Photosynthesis:**
A process by which a plant produces its food using energy from sunlight, carbon dioxide from the air, and water and nutrients from the soil.

**Pollination:**
The movement of pollen from one plant to another. Pollination is necessary for seeds to form in flowering plants. <span style="font-size: 130%; color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;"> =<span style="font-size: 130%; color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;"> = =<span style="font-size: 130%; color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">What Makes a Plant? = <span style="font-size: 130%; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">The big thing that plants have in common is **photosynthesis** (foto- sin- th-sis). **Photosynthesis** is the process that allows plants to take energy from the Sun and create sugars. Not all plants go through the process of photosynthesis.

Plants are able to turn sunlight into energy. Plants are actually able to store energy that can be used later. There are two processes on Earth: **Photosynthesis** and **Respiration**. __Photosynthesis stores__ the energy and __respiration releases__ that energy. It all starts with the Sun. =<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">Learning from Plants = <span style="display: block; font-size: 130%; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive; text-align: left;">Not only do you see plants everywhere in the real world, but they are also all over the scientific world. Scientists use them to study. We also use plants for food. Scientists are constantly developing new plants that are more resistant to disease and insects. Scientists also help create plants that grow faster and make more food.

NOW.........1. VISIT THE BIOPLANTS WEBSITE nad learn more about amazing plants. [] 2. VISIT THE BIOLOGY4KIDS WEBSITE AND LOOK AT THE PLANT KINGDOM SLIDE SHOW []