Plant Life

Guard cells open and close them

Also provides support

Moves products of photosynthesis

Monocots have one

Ginger spreads this way

Helps pull water through xylem

Roots usually show positive gravitropism

Reduces water loss

Increase surface area

Roots are a plant’s hidden conversation with the ground.

Chlorophyll absorbs light energy and is central to photosynthesis.

Plants can open and close stomata to balance carbon dioxide intake with water loss.

The fungus can help a plant access nutrients and water while receiving sugars from the plant.

In temperate climates, leaf drop can help a tree conserve water and survive winter.

Evergreen does not mean a plant never sheds anything.

Changes in pressure can be useful clues about changing weather systems.

High biodiversity can make ecosystems more resilient, though every system has its own limits and pressures.

A simple note about wind, clouds, shade, smell, or leaf movement can make a system visible.

Made of anther and filament

Includes stigma, style and ovary

Carried by animals, wind or water

Biennials take two years

Orchidaceae and Asteraceae are both exceptionally species-rich flowering-plant families; rankings depend on the taxonomic treatment.

Conifers are the largest group

Seeds develop within an ovary

A gaseous hormone

Requires suitable water, oxygen and temperature

Often brightly coloured or scented

Wind, water, insects, birds, bats, and other animals can move pollen.

Seeds can wait for favorable conditions before germinating.

Water, temperature, oxygen, and light conditions can all affect germination.

Central to photosynthesis

Shoots often show it

Cacti are familiar examples

Many orchids are epiphytes

Native to western North America

Lack true vascular tissue

Plants use carbon dioxide and water to make sugars, releasing oxygen as a byproduct.

Desert, tundra, tropical rainforest, and grassland are common biome examples.

Meteorologists use standardized gauges to compare rainfall across places and times.

Weather reports often compare air temperature with humidity, wind, and other conditions to describe how it feels.

Earth’s rotation and surface friction also shape the direction and pattern of winds.

Cloud type depends on height, temperature, moisture, and air movement.

These clouds can bring heavy rain, lightning, hail, strong winds, and sometimes tornadoes.

Condensation helps form clouds, dew, fog, and droplets on a cold surface.

Evaporation moves water from oceans, lakes, soil, and plants into the atmosphere.

Water can move through the cycle on timescales from minutes to thousands of years.

A watershed can be as small as a neighborhood stream or as large as a major river basin.

Drought is measured relative to a region’s normal climate and water needs.

Heat waves can be especially dangerous when nights stay warm and humidity is high.

A shaded courtyard, city street, forest floor, or coastal slope can each have a microclimate.

Tree cover, water, materials, and city design all influence the strength of the effect.

Not every introduced species becomes invasive; the key issue is ecological, economic, or human harm.

Compost can return nutrients to soil when made and used carefully.

Healthy soil supports plants, stores water and carbon, and cycles nutrients.