The New Childrens Encyclopedia

CONIFERS BROADLEAF TREES

Trees that produce

their seeds in flowers

rather than cones

tend to have broad

leaves. Most broadleaf trees are

“deciduous”—they lose their leaves

in winter to save energy.

The group of trees known as conifers produce seeds on cones rather than

in flowers. Most conifers are “evergreen” plants, which don’t drop their

leaves in the winter. There are 630 species of conifer, including cypresses,

firs, pines, larches, and the tallest trees in the world, coastal redwoods.

Yew trees are unusual, coneless conifers.

O

No soil

Parasitic plants

such as mistletoe

can grow without

soil, because they

tap into a host plant

and steal its

nutrients instead.

Epiphytes such as

bromeliads also grow on other plants,

usually to help them reach sunlight, but do

not damage their hosts.

O

Poor soil

Carnivorous plants cannot

get all their nutrients from

the soil, so they supplement

their diet with meat. When

a fly lands on a Venus flytrap, the leaves

close up and the plant releases juices

that help it digest the fly’s body.

O

No water

Cacti grow in very dry

places. After rain, the

cactus absorbs and

stores enough water in

its thick stem to survive

the next dry spell.

LIVING WORLD

Some flowering plants have

extraordinary abilities to survive

in harsh environments.

TOUGH FLOWERING PLANTS

Types of flower

Flowers contain the organs

that a plant uses to make

seeds and pollen.

 SIMPLE Tulips have

simple flowers. They are

built around a circle, and

all the petals look the same.

 COMPLEX Orchid

flowers are complex. They

have the same parts as

simple flowers, but they

develop into all kinds of

unusual forms to attract

the right kind of

pollinating insect.

 COMPOSITE

Gerberas produce

composite flowers. The

head is not one flower,

but made up of hundreds

of little florets.

 SPIRE Gladioli flowers grow in

tall spires or inflorescences. The

flowers open one at a time, starting

from the bottom.

Cypress

Cupressus macrocarpa

Korean fir

Abies koreana

Norway spruce

Pinus abies

Ye w

Taxus baccata

FLOWERING PLANTS

Three-quarters of all known plant species are

flowering plants, also known as angiosperms.

This group includes a huge range of plants,

from trees and grasses to garden flowers,

and from cacti to carnivorous plants.

TYPES OF PLANT

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(c) 2012 Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved.