Plants & Trees Facts for Kids
Fascinating facts about the plant world
The water-repelling superpower of lotus and water lily leaves comes from billions of tiny wax crystals on the surface, which cause water to bead up and roll off.
Figs are one of the oldest cultivated fruits — humans have been growing fig trees for over 11,000 years, making them older than wheat cultivation.
A lichen is not one organism but two — a fungus and an alga living together in a partnership where the alga makes food and the fungus provides structure.
Plants grow towards light in a process called phototropism; this happens because the dark side of a stem produces more growth hormone, making it grow faster.
A single fallen log can support more than 1,500 different species of beetles, fungi, mosses, and other organisms as it slowly decomposes.
Some flowers like jasmine and moonflowers only open at night and produce strong scents to attract moths, which are their main pollinators.
Giant kelp, a type of large seaweed, can grow up to 60 cm (2 feet) per day in the ocean and forms towering underwater forests up to 45 m tall.
Dodder is a parasitic plant with no leaves or chlorophyll; it wraps around other plants and pierces their stems to steal water and nutrients directly.
Green potatoes contain a toxic compound called solanine, which the potato produces as a natural pesticide — eating a lot of it can cause illness.
When acacia trees are being eaten by giraffes, they release ethylene gas into the air, signalling other nearby acacias to pump bitter tannins into their leaves.