24 Powerful Plants-High

Powerful Plants FOCUS Question What are some special ways that plants grow and survive?

What Is That Plant Doing? Unlike animals, plants can't run, jump, fly, or dig. But they don't just sit around doing nothing! Plants have power. They can make changes to themselves and to the places where they live.

Super Strength What is strong enough to break a giant rock? A plant! Roots hold up the plant and help it get water. Sometimes roots grow into small cracks in rock. As the roots grow the rock breaks apart. This begins the slow process of turning rock into soil.

Save That Soil! Where does your food grow? In the soil! Plants help make and protect soil. Dead plant parts break down, or decay, and become part of the soil. Now the soil is softer and can hold more water. It's perfect for growing more plants! Wind and water can move soil. But the roots of plants hold the soil together. Wind can't blow the soil away. Rain can't wash it away.

Standing Tall in Strong Winds Wind is no match for some trees. Palm trees can even stay standing during a hurricane. That's because palm trees bend in the wind. The trunk doesn't break. Palm trees also have strong roots that help hold up the trees. Wind can even blow all the leaves, or fronds, off a palm tree. No problem! The palm tree will grow new fronds.

Chemicals to the Rescue! Some plants call for help when bugs attack. Many caterpillars eat leaves. When they start to eat, certain plants send chemicals into the air. Wasps can smell these chemicals from the plants. The wasps come to eat the bugs that are eating the plants! Other plants make poison when something starts eating them. The animal tastes the poison and stops eating the plants. Plants Call for Help 1 A caterpillar eats a leaf. 2 The plant sends chemicals into the air. 3 A wasp smells the chemical. It eats the caterpillar.