Plant Biology on Pitara Kids Network

Why do Plants Lean Toward Sunlight?

Fri, 31 Aug 2001 21:39:58 +0000

Plants kept inside a room always grow in the direction of the window. In woodlands where there is a thick canopy of trees and sunlight rarely falls on earth, very few plants survive. Those that do, do not require sunlight to make their food.

People have long wondered about this phenomenon until the answer was discovered and explained by the English naturalist Charles Darwin. He demonstrated that the growing shoot of a grass seedling always bends towards light. This is due to a phenomenon called phototropism.

Is Potato a Fruit or Vegetable?

Thu, 02 May 2002 06:52:02 +0000

Pick up a potato and you notice eyes with little lashes on it. In fact, the lashes look like tiny roots. Have you ever wondered why the potato has roots on it?

The potato is actually a stem. A stem in disguise, that grows under the ground!

Many plants are masters at adapting themselves to their surroundings. They can change their structure to suit their needs.

Farmer holding harvested dirty potatoes in his hands.

Just as we keep large vessels handy in the scorching summer to store water, plants deal with the problem in a smarter way. Their body parts have changed over a period of time so as to adjust to their surroundings. Thus, the potato plant has changed the shape and size of its stem to store food and water. And this storage is done under the ground where it is relatively cooler.

Why Do Plants Bear Fruit?

Tue, 30 Sep 1997 07:15:29 +0000

Do you like fruits? Have you ever wondered why plants produce fruits? Is it only because nature wants you to enjoy eating its fruits and sing its praises?

The answer is no. Plants are much smarter than what you think they are. They actually use human beings, animals and birds who eat their fruits to propagate their kind. In other words, disperse their seeds.

The fruit serves as a mother’s womb where the embryo of a baby plant is nurtured. It protects the embryo, or the seed, in almost the same way as the mother protects her small ones. The flesh of the fruit serves as a protective lining as the seed develops. And, before the seed is ready to be sowed, the fruit is unripe and tastes sour. The sourness of the fruit discourages us from eating it.

Can Plants be Parasites?

Thu, 27 Apr 2000 22:20:11 +0000

All living things are dependent either on other animals or plants for their food. Animals must constantly go in search of food. But plants remain fixed at one place. Some plants make their own food by using energy from sunlight to convert carbon dioxide from the air and water from the soil to make sugar.

Green leaves of the plants contain chlorophyll that carry out this process called photosynthesis. But a large number of plants are unable to produce their own food because of the absence of chlorophyll. These plants, therefore, feed on other plants or dead animals.

Underwater Terminator

Thu, 04 Apr 2002 09:44:26 +0000

It is not an animal or disease. It is a collective name given to plants, which live underwater. Algae do not have specialised body parts such as roots, stems and leaves.
They range in size from very tiny cells to 30 metre long weeds. A special characteristic of algae is that they multiply very fast.

Underwater Terminator [Illustration by Kusum Chamoli]

US researchers recently identified the algae, which has caused large-scale destruction of European sea habitats – almost 4,050 hectares of sea habitats along the Mediterranean coast, according to a report in ‘Down To Earth’ magazine. This algae destroys underwater plant and animal life. Being toxic it forces the fish to seek new homes.