As other living beings, Plants are also extremely important to life on Earth. They grow almost everywhere like, in deserts, valleys, on mountains, in salty and fresh water. Plants have varieties of shapes and sizes from the smallest seedling to the towering like Giant Sequoias.
They (plants) play crucial role in the life of other living beings like humans, animals and other organisms which directly or indirectly depends on the plants. As they are the chief source of getting the oxygen, food, and medicine, additionally also provide shelter for numerous living creatures.
Whether they are Herbivores (plant eaters), carnivores ( animal eaters) or omnivores (animal and plant eaters) depends directly or indirectly on plants for survival. The reason for this on plants for survivals the animal eaters that prey on other animals can be herbivores. The other significant role of the plant is that it provide shelter or is said as the habitat for many animals.
As we know that plants grow on soil, and they are mutually dependent on each other, as the plants also provide nutrients to plants when they die and in return soil also give ground requirements for the seedling to mature into a plant or a tree.
Plants help in soil erosion by holding the soil in its place. During the process of photosynthesis, they (plants) take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and release oxygen for us to breathe. The basic parts of most land plants are stems, roots, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds. The function of each plant parts is described below.
Firstly, roots anchor the plants in the soil and absorb nutrients and water that are needed by the rest of the plant; Stems support the upper part of the plant and act as a transport system for nutrients, water, sugar, and starches. Photosynthesis may also occur in the stem of some plants such as: cacti, asparagus, celery, and bananas.
Leaves are the parts of the plant where photosynthesis usually occurs—where food for the plant is made. The green substance, chlorophyll, captures light energy and uses it to convert water and carbon dioxide into plant food and oxygen.
Flowers are the reproductive part of plants. Most flowers have four main parts: petals, stamen (anther and filament), pistil (stigma, style and ovary), and sepals. They often have showy petals and fragrances to attract pollinators such as birds, bees, and other insects. After flowers are pollinated and fertilized, they produce seeds in the ovary of the flower.
Fruits are the fleshy substances that usually surround seeds. They protect the seeds and attract animals to eat them. This helps in seed dispersal.
Seeds contain plant material that can develop into another plant. This plant material is called an embryo. Seeds are covered with a protective seed coat and have one or two cotyledons. Cotyledons are the food for the baby plant until it can make its own food from light and are often the first embryonic leaves of the plant.
