What are the characteristics of plants?

Agave variegaya plant

Agave variegaya plant

Plants are living beings that do what no one else can do: transform the sun’s energy into food. This process, called photosynthesis, is exclusive to plant beings. No animal is capable of doing it, and perhaps that is why they are so special.

Without them, there would be no life on Earth, or at least not as we know it. Know the plant characteristics It is, therefore, very interesting.

Plant characteristics

Fern frond (leaf)

frond (leaf) of fern

Vegetable beings, although in appearance they are very different from other living beings, they do practically the same thing as them, that is: germinate (they are born), they grow, are reproduced and finally tomorrow. But this is not an easy path. From the first moment in which their parents deposit a copy of genetic material in the ovule and the seeds begin to mature, they have to face several enemies: fungi, insects, bacteria and viruses, as well as possible sudden changes in temperature.

To grow and stay healthy and strong, they need light from the sun (either directly or indirectly), air, water and land. However, they will be able to breathe, absorbing oxygen (O2) and expelling carbon dioxide (CO2), and to carry out photosynthesis, expelling oxygen and absorbing carbon dioxide.

Photosynthesis

As we know, plants cannot change places, so their roots have specialized in absorbing the nutrients that are available in the soil as soon as it becomes moistened. These nutrients, known as raw sapare transported by the stem to the leaves through the woody vessels. Once they reach them, they mix with carbon dioxide which, with the help of sunlight, is transformed into food. As a side effect, plants release oxygen.

Vegetable respiration

All living things need to breathe. In the case of plants, they do it both day and night absorbing oxygen and expelling carbon dioxide.

What are the parts of plants?

Ardisia wallichii plant

Plant Ardisia singer

The plant organism is divided into three parts:

  • Roots: they are, in most cases, underground. Its function is to hold them to the ground and absorb the water and nutrients they find.
  • stems: usually grows vertically towards the light. It can be woody or herbaceous. In it the branches, leaves, flowers and fruits develop.
  • Leaves: they consist of the blade, which is the wide part, and may have a petiole, which is a stem that joins them with the branch. The upper part is known as the upper part and the lower part is called the back. The edge is called the margin.

In addition to these three main parts, they can also have flowers y fruitsof which there are a wide variety of sizes and shapes. There are simple flowers with a single layer of petals, double; red, pink, yellow, blue, bicolor, … As for the fruits, there are some that are very hard and apparently difficult to break, and there are others that are so soft and sweet that they can be eaten.

What types of plants are there?

We identify four types of plants:

  • trees: are those that have a woody stem, known as a trunk, which grows to a height of more than five meters.
  • Shrubbery: they are those that have woody stems that branch from the ground level. They measure between one and five meters.
  • Shrubs or subshrubs: are those plants that have woody stems which reach a height of less than one meter.
  • Herbs: are those plants whose stems are soft, green.

Leaves of a plant

leaves of a plant

We hope it has been useful to you .

What are the characteristics of plants?

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