6 Amazing Plants!

Unit 6 VOCABULARY 1 1 Listen and read. Have you ever heard of a flower that smells like rotting meat to attract insects? Have you seen a plant close its leaves over an insect? Can plants really do these things? Let’s learn more about the behavior of plants. Plants need light, air, water, and nutrients to live. Roots absorb the nutrients that are in the ground and water. Tiny creatures called bacteria turn these nutrients into food that the plant can use. But some places don’t have a lot of these nutrients. So, some plants adapt. They follow a different plan for survival. Their strategy is to eat insects to live! The stink lily gets its name from its smell. The flower stinks like rotting meat. The smell attracts flies to the plant—and then tricks them! When a fly crawls on the flower, pollen sticks to the fly. Then the fly takes the pollen and leaves it on the next plant it visits. That’s how the stink lily makes new plants. The Venus flytrap attracts insects with a sweet odor. When an insect lands on an open leaf, the leaf closes and traps the insect. Then the plant slowly digests the insect over a period of eight to ten days. 2 Listen and repeat. attract The sweet smell of a fl ower attracts insects. a leaf A green insect is hiding on that leaf. behavior One plant behavior is to grow toward the light. light All plants need light to live. roots A plant gets food through its roots. ground Most plants have their roots under the ground. bacteria There are a lot of bacteria in the ground. adapt Both plants and animals adapt to where they live. survival The survival of most plants depends on getting enough water. a strategy Plants and animals have strategies for survival. stink That plant is beautiful, but it really stinks. trick The rotting meat smell of the plant tricks flies. trap The plant traps the insect so it can’t get away. digest How do plants digest food? a stem The stem of the plant holds the flower.

SONG 1 Listen, read, and sing. Plants Are All Around Leaf and stem and flower and root! The sweet, delicious smell of fruit is here and there and everywhere! Plants are all around. Plants are growing up and down. Air is flowing all around. Plants come in every shape and size. Their bright colors attract the eyes of bees and butterflies. Big and small, plants survive it all. Leaf and stem and flower and root! The sweet, delicious smell of fruit is here and there and everywhere! Plants are all around. Plants are growing up and down. Air is flowing all around. Some plants play tricks with our eyes. They’re made to give us a surprise. A plant is designed to survive. To make new seeds, to grow and thrive. Some of the oldest plants on Earth are trees on mountains high, drinking in the light, reaching up into the sky. Leaf and stem and flower and root! The sweet, delicious smell of fruit is here and there and everywhere! Plants are all around.

GRAMMAR 1 The passive: Simple present Insects are attracted to the plant’s sweet smell. The seeds are carried away by birds. How is the insect trapped? The fly is caught inside the closing leaf.

VOCABULARY 2 1 Listen and repeat. a petal The petals are white. a daisy That daisy has a white fl ower. a vine Grapes grow on a vine. a thorn Be careful of the thorn on that rose stem. a rose The smell of a rose is sweet. GRAMMAR 2 Relative clauses with that I don’t want a plant that smells like rotting meat! I like plants that trick and trap insects.

READING 1 Listen and read. Is That a Plant? The Hydnora africana has no leaves or stem. It has a flower that looks like a hungry mouth! Inside is white stuff that stinks. Insects are attracted to the smell. The insect is trapped inside the flower by stiff hairs. The insect eats the white stuff to survive. Pollen sticks to the insect. A few days later, the flower opens, and the insect is free. Then it takes the pollen to another flower. The flower has done its job! The white baneberry is also called “doll’s eyes.” Its fruit looks like eyes on blood-red stems! It is round and white and has a black dot. Birds eat the fruit and spread the seeds. That’s how the doll’s eyes makes other plants. The fruit does not hurt the birds, but it’s poisonous to people! If people touch any part of the plant, they will get blisters! Eating the fruit can stop a person’s heart. The Rafflesia arnoldii also has no leaves or stem. But it has the largest flower of all plants! It can grow to be 1 meter (3 feet) across and can weigh 11 kilos (24 pounds). The flower looks scary. Things that look like big thorns grow out of its center. And worse, it stinks like rotting meat—just like the stink lily! But this plant doesn’t eat insects. The odor attracts insects that carry its pollen to other plants. This big flower blooms for only five days. Because there are fewer and fewer of these plants, they may become extinct.