7 Amazing Plants

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Amazing Plants by Andrew Whitmore Table of Contents Chapter 1 Why Are Plants Amazing? page 2 Chapter 2 Big-Time Plants page 4 Chapter 3 Odd Plants page 8 Chapter 4 The Sweet Smell of Plants page 12 Glossary/ Index page 15 Comprehension Check page 16

Chapter 1 Why Are Plants Amazing? The wide variety of plants makes them special. Some plants look and smell beautiful. Some plants look or smell like something other than a plant. The bird of paradise was named because of the way it looks. The Hawaiian flower seems to have a beak and spiky feathers. Some plants are very small. You would need a microscope to see them. Other plants are very big. You could make a lot of pumpkin pies with these pumpkins!

Chapter 2 Big-Time Plants The raffia palm (PAHLM) has the longest leaves of any plant. One leaf can be as long as a school bus. Raffia palm leaves are so long that some people use them to build homes. The leaves of the giant taro plant are also huge. They look like elephant ears. But the largest leaf ever is even bigger than an elephant's body! Giant taro plants are nicknamed "elephant ear plants."

A rafflesia has giant petals. These flowers can be as wide as you are tall! Some plants have giant seeds. The coco-de-mer palm has seeds that are heavier than two bowling balls. The huge seeds of the coco-de-mer palm are heavy, but they can float on water. A rafflesia has no leaves, stem, or roots. Plants don't just grow straight up. They also send roots deep underground. Even small plants can have very long roots. Winter rye has deep roots with thousands of fine hairs. The hairs help soak up water. The winter rye's roots take up much more space than the rest of the plant. If this winter rye's roots were stretched out, it wouldn't fit on the page.

Chapter 3 Odd Plants Some plants do odd things or look odd. Some even move! Sunflowers gently turn to face the sun. This helps them soak up as much light as possible. In French, sunflower is tournesol. That means "turns to the sun." A Venus flytrap opens to eat a snack. The Venus flytrap is a carnivorous plant. Its leaves are covered with hairs. When an insect touches one of the hairs, the leaves snap shut like jaws. The insect drowns in a liquid. Then the plant swallows it.