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How Plants Grow
JUST THE FACTS 
Tags: Plants, Science, Plant Growth
The following is a concise list of information about how plants grow.
| | It is a common misconception that most of the solid material in a plant is taken from the soil, when in fact almost all of it is actually taken from the atmosphere. |
| | Through a process known as photosynthesis, plants use the energy in sunlight to convert carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into simple sugars. |
| | These sugars are then used as building blocks and form the main structural component of the plant. |
| | Plants rely on soil primarily for water (in quantitative terms), but also obtain nitrogen, phosphorus and other crucial elemental nutrients. |
| | For the majority of plants to grow successfully they also require oxygen in the atmosphere (for respiration in the dark) and oxygen around their roots. |
| | A few specialized vascular plants, such as Mangroves, can however grow with their roots in anoxic conditions. |
| | Some plants grow special defense measures such as the spines on a blackberry |
| | Simple plants like algae may have short life spans as individuals, but their populations are commonly seasonal. |
| | Other plants may be organized according to their seasonal growth pattern. |
| | Annual plants live and reproduce within one growing season. |
| | Biennial plants live for two growing seasons; usually reproduce in second year. |
| | Perennial plants live for many growing seasons; continue to reproduce once mature. |
| | Among the vascular plants, perennials include both evergreens that keep their leaves the entire year, and deciduous plants which lose their leaves for some part. |
| | In temperate and boreal climates, they generally lose their leaves during the winter; many tropical plants lose their leaves during the dry season. |
| | The growth rate of plants is extremely variable. Some mosses grow less than 0.001 mm/h, while most trees grow 0.025-0.250 mm/h. |
| | Some climbing species, such as kudzu, which do not need to produce thick supportive tissue, may grow up to 12.5 mm/h. |
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Angie
Source:
Wikipedia – All text in this list shared under the GNU License
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