GETTING TO KNOW PLANTS

LESSON – 07 (MODULE – 1/1)

AUDITI DEY (TGT), A.E.C.S.-2, MUMBAI

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 WHY STUDY PLANTS?
• Plants are the only source of oxygen on the earth.
• They are a major source of the food which we eat.
• They maintain soil fertility.
• They prevent soil erosion.
• They cause rain.
• They regulate the temperature of the earth.
• Give shelter to many animals, insects and birds
• ……the list goes on……..

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 CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS

• On the basis of the

thickness of their stems and the
place of origin of their branches,
plants can broadly be classified into three categories:
Herbs, Shrubs and Trees

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HERBS
• These are plants that have green and frail stems.
• Usually, these are small plants with fewer branches.

FENUGREEK (METHI) MINT (PUDINA) CORIANDER (DHANIA)

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SOME MORE HERBS

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SHRUBS
• These are plants with hard, but not exactly thick stems.
• Their branches generally originate from the base of their stems.
• These are much taller than herbs, but are usually shorter than trees.

JASMINE ROSE TULSI HIBISCUS (CHINA ROSE)

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 TREES
• These are plants which are very tall and have a thick and hard stem.
• The branches originate from the upper part of the tree and are very
high above the ground.

COCONUT TREE BANYAN TREE MANGO TREE

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There are two other kinds of plants. They are:
Creepers
&
Climbers

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CREEPERS
• These are plants which have soft, weak and green stems; hence they
cannot stand straight and instead spread themselves on the ground.

BOTTLE GOURD PUMPKIN

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CLIMBERS
• These are also plants with soft and weak stems. Instead of spreading
themselves on the ground, they take the support of a nearby object to
climb up.

BITTER GOURD GRAPEVINE

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PARTS OF A PLANT

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STEM
• The stem is that part of a plant which bears branches, flowers, leaves,
fruits and buds. It grows above the ground.
• FUNCTIONS:
• It is responsible for supplying water and
minerals from roots to all parts of the
plant.
• It also helps in transporting food prepared
by leaves to different parts of the plant,
including roots.

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 ACTIVITY: To show how the stem helps in the
conduction of water.
• First, let us take a glass and fill one-third
of it with water. Then add a few drops of
coloured ink to the water.
• Cut the base of a stem and put it in the
glass having coloured water.
• Observation: We observe that after a

while the stem and leaves of the plant

change colour and take after the colour of
the ink. This is proof that the stem carries
water to different parts of the plant.
• Stems have narrow tubes inside them,
through which the water travels AUDITI
upwards.
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 LEAF : PARTS OF A LEAF
• Petiole: This is the stalk via which the leaf
is joined to the plant.
• Lamina: This is the expanded part or the
green portion of a leaf which is
responsible for photosynthesis.
• Midrib: This is the central, prominent
thick structure/line right in the middle of
a leaf which helps support the leaf and
prevents it from breaking.
• Veins: The many lines that run through the
surface of a leaf are called veins. They
transport water and minerals.

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 BRAIN TEASERS
• DO ALL LEAVES HAVE A PETIOLE?

• Find out some plants which have leaves with a petiole and some which
have leaves without any petiole.
• Do you know their names? If not, try to find out.

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LEAF VENATION
• Leaf venation is the design made by veins on the leaf surface.
• There are two major types of leaf venation.
• RETICULATE VENATION: It is a type of venation in which the
veins form a net-like shape on either side of the midrib.

PEEPAL HIBISCUS ROSE NEEM

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LEAF VENATION continued
• Parallel venation is said to exist when the veins run parallel to one
another.

TULIP TURMERIC BAMBOO BANANA

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 FUNCTIONS OF A LEAF
• TRANSPIRATION: Transpiration is the
process by which
plants release
the excess amount of water (in the form
of
vapour) into the air.
• It helps in cooling the plants down.
• ACTIVITY: We can observe transpiration
by
enclosing the leafy part of a plant in a
closed polythene bag
and leaving it in
the sun.
• After a while, we see tiny droplets of
water on the insides of
the polythene bag.
This proves that the leaves have
performed transpiration.
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 FUNCTIONS OF A LEAF continued
• PHOTOSYNTHESIS: Photosynthesis is defined as the process which helps leaves
prepare food for the plant with the help of carbon-di-oxide and water in the
presence of sunlight and a green pigment (in leaves) called chlorophyll.
• The food prepared is stored in various parts
of the plant in the form of starch.
• ACTIVITY: In order to see if leaves really do
perform photosynthesis, let us take a leaf and
immerse it in a test tube filled with spirit.
• Place this test tube in a beaker filled with
water; then heat the beaker.
• After the leaf loses its colour, wash it and
pour iodine solution over it.
• We can see that it turns blue-black in
colour; this shows the presence of AUDITI
starch.
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ROOTS
• The root is a very important component of the plant system for the
simple reason that in its absence, the plant ceases to exist.
• Roots generally grow under the ground.

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 TYPES OF ROOTS
• There are two major types of roots which exist in plants.
• TAP ROOTS: In this type of root system, there is a prominent and long root
and a bunch of smaller roots which grow from this main root called lateral
roots.
• Plants showing reticulate venation in leaves have tap roots.

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 TYPES OF ROOTS continued
• FIBROUS ROOTS: In this type of root system, a group of similar-sized
roots emerge from the base of the plant. They do not have a main root.
• Plants showing parallel venation in leaves have fibrous roots.

WHEAT GRASS RICE (PADDY)

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FUNCTIONS OF ROOTS
• Roots are responsible for absorbing minerals and water from the
soil and transferring them to the stem.
• Another important function of roots is to firmly anchor the plant in
the ground. This is essential to support the upright position of the
plants.

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FUNCTIONS OF ROOTS continued
• Roots also perform the function of storing important nutrients and
food for growth.
• There are some roots which are edible.

CARROTS BEET ROOT RADISH TURNIP

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 HIBISCUS ROSE
FLOWERS
• Flowers are the colourful, seed-
bearing parts of a plant which grow
at the end of the stem.
• They are the reproductive part
of a plant.
PETUNIA LILY

DAHLIA CHRYSANTHEMUM
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 PARTS OF A FLOWER
• A flower typically consists of the following parts:
• RECEPTACLE: It is the base of a flower to which all the parts of a flower
are attached.

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PARTS OF A FLOWER

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PARTS OF A FLOWER continued
• SEPALS: They are the green leaf-like parts in the outermost circle of
a flower. All sepals taken together are called Calyx.
• They protect the flower during its bud stage.
• Some flowers have jointed sepals, while some have separate sepals.

JOINTED SEPALS OF DATURA SEPARATE SEPALS OF ROSE

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PARTS OF A FLOWER continued
• PETALS: These are colourful, together known as corolla, and are
present inside the sepals.
• They attract insects for pollination and protect the reproductive organs
of the flower.
• Some flowers have jointed petals and some others have separate
petals.

JOINTED PETALS SEPARATE PETALS

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 PARTS OF A FLOWER continued

• STAMEN: It is the male reproductive part. It consists of anther and

filament.
• The anther is a sac-like structure that produces and stores pollen.
• The filament supports the anther.

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 PARTS OF A FLOWER continued
• PISTIL/CARPEL: It is the female reproductive part. It is comprised of
three parts- stigma, style and ovary.
• Stigma is the top-most part of a carpel. It is sticky and receives pollen during
pollination.
• The style is the long tube which connects the stigma to the ovary.
• The ovary contains a lot of ovules.

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 BRAIN TEASERS
• Do all flowers have sepals, petals, stamens and pistils?
• Are there flowers that do not have one or more of these?
• Are there flowers which have parts other than these?
• Do all flowers have the same number of sepals, petals, stamens and
pistils?
• Are the number of sepals and petals in a flower always the same?

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