Add Your ServiceGardening Services
Plants are a major group of life forms and include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. About 350,000 species of plants, defined as seed plants, bryophytes, ferns and fern allies, are estimated to exist currently. As of 2004, some 287,655 species had been identified, of which 258,650 are flowering and 15,000 bryophytes (see table below). Green plants, sometimes called metaphytes, obtain most of their energy from sunlight via a process called photosynthesis.
Most of the solid material in a plant is 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 support and 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. However, a few specialized vascular plants, such as Mangroves, can grow with their roots in anoxic conditions.
The genotype of a plant affects its growth, for example selected varieties of wheat grow rapidly, maturing within 110 days, whereas others, in the same environmental conditions, grow more slowly and mature within 155 days.
Home | Sitemap | Resources | Contact Us | RSS | Add Services
All Rights Reserved @ GardeningField
