Nature is but an image or imitation of wisdom, the last thing of the soul; nature being a thing which doth only do, but not know.
- Plotinus
So, while I am excitedly monitoring and documenting the progress of my seedlings and preparing my container garden for the first transplants (as well as respective posts too, of course, to be published soon - I can't wait to transplant my first veggies!), I also have been working on a number of posts about houseplant care and plant nutrient needs. While at it, I realized how often plant parts and aspects of their life cycle are referenced; and I thought, at this point, it would be useful to post an entry just about that.
In the process, the glossary has been extensively updated, so I will take the chance to highlight that feature of the blog - check it out. The post includes a simple factsheet embedded below and which you can also directly view and download here.
This entry focuses on flowering plants, and it is pretty elementary. But it never hurts to revisit the fundamentals, and it does make for better plant care and gardening to know your botany - well, the bare bones of it.
Plants are living creatures that perform the same functions we associate with more complex forms of life: they grow, reproduce, and die. In the course of their life cycle, they also provide food, shade, scent, and beauty.
Starting with seed, the life cycle of a plant goes through four distinct stages: 1. seed - which contains the plant embryo and food reserves to sustain it until it emerges, and which is covered by a protective harder coat 2. seedling - the baby plant that emerges after germination 3. vegetative - where the plant produces new growth at the highest rate as it develops into maturity 4. floral - where the plant is mature enough to produce flowers and reproduce by yielding fruit.
Some seeds will go into dormancy before the seedling can emerge; this is a natural mechanism some plants developed that delays germination until the conditions in their natural habitat are most favorable for survival of the seedling.
To carry on the various life processes throughout their growth stages, plants rely on photosynthesis: a process by which light energy is used to convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and glucose sugar - oxygen is released into the atmosphere, and the sugar is the food the plant uses for growth.
The four main parts of the plant that perform the various life functions are:
The root: this is the underground part of the plant that anchors it to the ground, it is light- and air-sensitive. Aside from anchoring, the root supplies the plant with the needed dissolved nutrients and water it absorbs from the soil and transports to the stem.
The stem in turn transports the nutrients and water to the branches, leaves, and other parts of the plant.
Leaves carry on the key process of photosynthesis. Their underside features stomata (sing.stoma): mouth-like openings through which the plant respires and water evaporates, and which by opening and closing regulate moisture flow in the plant tissue - the pressure difference created sucks up the water and dissolved nutrients from the root system through the stem.
Arguably the most interesting or striking feature of a flowering plant is its flower: the part responsible for reproduction in a plant. Over the evolution of plants, the shape and structure of the flower was modified to optimize the pollination process and hence promote reproduction according to the conditions in the plants natural habitat. One of the most interesting examples of such adaptations are the carrion flowers, which mimic the shape of flesh and emit the odor of rotten flesh to attract scavenging flies and beetles, as these are the only viable pollinators in their natural habitat.
Check out the factsheet below for a simple presentation of these parts and their functions:
In posts about my seedlings, I have been keen to include the family name of the plant species; noteworthy here is that, traditionally, in the plant world, it was the similarities in flower structure that defined plant families and determined their members (currently, DNA mapping is also used, and I must mention that family members additionally share the same enemies: i.e. are susceptible to the same pests and diseases).
Flower structures and the reproduction methods and mechanisms of plants are quite varied. In the attached factsheet, a perfect flower - i.e. one that possesses both male and female reproductive parts, as roses do for instance - is used for demonstration. A detailed discussion of plant sexual reproduction will exhaust the scope and purpose of this post; however, the factsheet does feature clickable part names that link to the corresponding terms and their explanations in the glossary.
For now, this post is meant to provide a foundation to enable me to adequately document, demonstrate, and discuss the flowering and fruit bearing aspects of each of my started plant seeds as they mature into fruit yielding crops. I can't wait for my home-grown veggies!
