18 The Wonderful World of Plants-Mid

The Wonderful World of Plants Written by Ron Fridell

Introduction Imagine a family is going out for dinner. The kids put on clean clothes. At the restaurant, Mom parks the car under a large tree. Inside, everyone sits at a wooden table. Dinner includes potatoes and fresh vegetables. They have fruit pie for dessert. They take the leftovers home in a cardboard box. Think about the clothes, tree, table, food, and box. What do they have in common? They all come from plants! You see plants almost everywhere. You also use plants in so many ways.

In this book, you will learn what plants need in order to live. You'll learn how they make their own food and how they make more plants. You'll also learn how animals and plants depend on each other. Plants are important living things. You would not survive without plants!

The Parts of a Plant Most plants have the same basic parts. Each part helps the plant get the water, air, minerals, and light that it needs to survive. The roots of a plant have important jobs. Roots usually grow down into the soil. In most plants, roots anchor, or hold, the plant in place. They help keep the plant upright, too. Roots absorb water and minerals from the soil. Minerals are the nutrients that help plants grow and be healthy. The roots also store some of the food made by the plant.

The stem of a plant supports the leaves. It usually grows toward the Sun so the plant can get sunlight. The stem also moves water and minerals from the roots to other parts of the plant. And like roots, stems can store food and water for the plant. Do You Know? The stems of some plants are long. The trunk and branches of a tree are stems. Some plants have stems that creep along the ground, such as the vines of a strawberry or pumpkin plant. The stems of some plants, such as white potatoes, are underground.

Leaves are another important part of most plants. Leaves are where plants make most of their own food. Leaves also get rid of the waste products that are made when the plant makes food. Leaves grow above the ground where the light is. They are usually flat, which helps them catch sunlight. Try This Study a leaf and talk about it. Are the edges smooth, wavy, or toothed like a saw? Is the tip pointy, rounded, or dented? Is the surface smooth, rough, bumpy, hairy, sticky, or waxy? Does light pass through the leaf?