Strange Plants

Strange Plants written by Keira Fried. Focus question. What makes some plants strange?

《奇异植物》 凯拉·弗里德 著 探究问题 为什么有些植物很奇特？

When we think about plants, we often think of trees, flowers, bushes, and grass. We think about organisms that have stems, leaves, roots, and sometimes flowers. Most plants, such as the ones in this photograph, have roots that grow into the ground.

我们想到植物时，通常会想到树木、鲜花、灌木和青草。 我们印象里的植物都有茎、叶、根，有些还会开花。 大多数植物，就像这张照片里的一样，根都扎进泥土里生长。

While most plants have these four basic components, some plants are different. This book is about some of these strange plants.

大多数植物都拥有这四个基本部分，但有些植物却不一样。 这本书就来介绍这些奇特的植物。

Plants, called air plants, live in trees high above the ground near ponds, streams, rivers, and swamps in North and South America. Their roots are not buried in dirt. Instead, the plants grow on tree branches. They take all their nutrients and moisture from the air through their leaves. They do not live in soil as most plants do.

被称作气生植物的这类植物，生长在南北美洲池塘、溪流、河流、沼泽旁的高树上，远离地面。 它们的根不埋在泥土里。 它们反而依附在树枝上生长。 它们通过叶片从空气中获取全部养分和水分。 它们不像大多数植物那样生长在土壤里。

Can you imagine carnivorous or meat -eating plants? Well, there are such plants. They eat insects, spiders, and even some other small animals. Like all plants, they use sunlight and water to make their own food. The animals they eat help them grow better because these plants live in places where the soil doesn't supply enough nutrients.

你能想象食肉，也就是会吃肉的植物吗？ 其实世界上真的有这种植物哦。 它们会捕食昆虫、蜘蛛，甚至一些小型动物。 和所有植物一样，它们也会利用阳光和水制造自己需要的养分。 它们吃的动物能帮自己更好地生长，因为这类植物生长的地方，土壤无法提供足够的养分。

One well -known meat -eating plant is the Venus flytrap, which lives in moist environments. Its leaves look like traps. The traps have small trigger hairs on the inside. When a critter walks inside a leaf and brushes against the trigger hairs, the leaf snaps shut. The critter is then trapped.

一种广为人知的食肉植物就是捕蝇草，它生长在潮湿的环境中。 它的叶子长得像捕夹。 捕夹的内侧长着细小的触发毛。 当小虫子爬进叶子碰到触发毛时，叶子就会猛地合上。 小虫子就这样被困住了。