Glossary
A
- angiosperms
- - flowering vascular plants
- Annuals
- - plants that grow, flower, make seeds and die in one year
- anther
- - the yellow part inside the flower at the top of a long, thin stalk that holds pollen grains
B
- bacteria
- - tiny single-celled organisms found throughout the earth that may be helpful or harmful
- Biennials
- - plants that need two years to complete their life cycles
- botanists
- - a scientists who studies plants
- Botany
- - the study of plants
C
- carbon dioxide
- - a gas that humans and animals exhale, and plants take from the air to use in photosynthesis
- carnivorous
- - living things that eat animals (meat)
- cell walls
- - cell walls surround every plant cell, in order to protect and strengthen the plant and help keep bugs and diseases from attacking the plant
- chemicals
- - substances of matter with a specific molecular structure
- chlorophyll
- - the substance in leaves that gives plants their green color and absorbs the sun's energy
- chloroplasts
- - tiny structures inside plant cells that contain chlorophyll
- conifers
- - trees that grow cones, like pines and firs
- cotyledon
- - a leaf that is stored in a seed and is the first to emerge when the seed sprouts
- cuticle
- - the protective, waxy covering on the outside of leaves and stems
D
- defenses
- - actions or materials to protect against danger
- drought
- - a period of time when water is very scarce
E
- embryo
- - the baby plant within the seed
- endosperm
- - short-term food supply used by the embryo to help it grow
F
- fertilization
- - the joining of pollen with an ovule to form a seed
- filament
- - the fine hair-like stalk that supports the anther
- Flowers
- - the part of the plant that looks and smells nice, and contains the reproductive parts
- food chains
- - how energy and nutrients are passed from creature to creature
- fruit
- - the part of the plant we usually eat that has the seeds inside
- fungus
- - living organisms such as mold and yeast, can cause disease in plants
G
- germination
- - the process of a seed sprouting or coming to life
- glucose
- - the food (sugar) the plant makes for itself during photosynthesis
- Gravitropism
- - movement of plants in response to gravity
- gravity
- - the natural attraction of objects to each other, specifically the attraction that keeps matter on the earth
- Gymnosperms
- - non-flowering vascular plants
H
- herbaceous
- - plants with flexible stems that are non-woody and die back to the ground each year
L
- leaves
- - the green, food-making factory of the plant, usually flat to catch light and attached to a stem
N
- nectar
- - sweet liquid made in the flower to attract pollinators
- Nocturnal
- - an plant or animal that is most active at night
- Nonvascular
- - plants without roots, stems or leaves, that use osmosis to move material through the plant, soaking up water in its
- nutrients
- - substances needed for growth; plants get needed minerals such as potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus from the soil
O
- osmosis
- - the process that causes a liquid such as water to pass through the membrane of a living cell
- ovary
- - the part of the plant that has the seeds inside, usually at the base of the flower
- ovules
- - the part inside the ovary that becomes the seed
- oxygen
- - a gas found in the atmosphere that animals and humans breathe, produced by plants during photosynthesis
P
- pathogens
- - a microorganism that can cause disease
- Perennials
- - plants that live for a long time and come back every year after resting over the winter.
- petals
- - the colorful, pretty parts of the flower
- phloem
- - the cells of the plant that move food up or down the stem to other parts of the plant
- photosynthesis
- - the process by which a plant produces its food using energy from sunlight, carbon dioxide from the air, and water from the soil
- Phototropism
- - movement of plants toward light
- pistil
- - the female part of the flower
- plants
- - living things that use photosynthesis to make their own food. If it's alive, and it's not an animal or a microbe, it's probably a plant!
- pollen
- - powder-like substance that covers the anthers and is necessary to make seeds, the material that bees collect
- pollination
- - the moving of the pollen from the anther to the stigma
- pollinator
- - an insect, bird, or bat that moves pollen from the anther to the stigma in a flower
- pollinators
- - Animals, such as bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and bats, that move pollen from the anther to the stigma of a flower.
- predators
- - living organisms that hunt and eat other organisms
R
- receptacle
- - the part of the flower that the pistil and stamen grow out of
- reproduction
- - the process of a living thing creating its young
- roots
- - the underground part of the plant that supports the plant and brings in water and nutrients
S
- seed coat
- - the protective outer layer of the seed
- seeds
- - tiny future plants with food around them and a covering protecting them
- sepals
- - covers the outside of a flower bud and protects the flower before it opens, looks a like little green leaves
- spores
- - tiny structures found on ferns and mosses that move around in the wind and germinate when they land
- stamen
- - the male part of the flower
- stem
- - the main body of the plant that holds up the limbs, leaves, and flowers
- stigma
- - the sticky bulb in the center of flowers where the pollen lands and starts the fertilization process (female part)
- stimuli
- - an object or event that brings forth a behavioral response
- stomata
- - small holes in leaves that carbon dioxide and oxygen pass through
- style
- - the long stalk that supports the stigma (female part)
T
- toxic
- - poisonous
- tropism
- - movement in response to a stimulus
V
- Vascular
- - plants with parts that move materials such as water through the plants
- veins
- - tiny tubes that carry water and nutrients within the leaf
W
- woody
- - stems that are hard and do not die back to the ground during the winter, such as tree trunks
X
- xylem
- - cells that move water in plants
