Plants for Food and Fibre

Seed Plants

• Many plants reproduces by means of seeds not spores

• Flowers - contains both male and female parts for reproduction

• Stems -  pathway for water and nutrients to travel as well supporting the leaves and reproductive structures.
• Leaves - produces food, takes/releases O2 and CO2, H2O is allowed to leave
• Roots - absorbs water & dissolves nutrients, as well anchors the plant in the ground

Fibre:

• plant material that cannot be digested but that helps you to digest other food 
• a thin thread of natural material that can be used to make cloth, paper, etc.

Lets watch a timelapse of seed growth

How do plants make food?

Photosynthesis :  

H2O + CO2 -->  C6H12O6 + O2

• Leaves do most of the work, a structure known as CHLOROPLASTS (contains chlorophyll which captures the sun’s energy and uses it to join the CARBON DIOXIDE and WATER to make SUGAR)

How do plants use food? 

Cellular Respiration :

C6H12O6 + O2  -->  H2O + CO2

• —Plants use energy to turn CO2 and water into sugar (plant food), therefore when plants use this sugar they get energy and produce CO2 and Water

Solution:

Is a mixture composed of two or more components— (one of the components is usually water)

Concentration:

Is the number of particles of one substance in a certain volume of another substance

• Water with dissolved lemonade crystals is said to be a solution with a high concentration 
• Salt water from the sea is also a solution with a high concentration, the more salt there is the higher the concentration
• Tap water is technically a solution with low concentration

—Osmosis:

• Is the movement of water:
• Water moves from an area where the solution has a low concentration to an area where the solution is highly concentrated, this continues until there is an equal concentration of particles everywhere
• Must be across a permeable membrane

3 Main Processes which draws water up plants!

1. Transpiration:

Evaporation of water from the surface of a plant (leaves), as more water particles move up to take the place of the evaporated particles

2. Capillary Action:

Water travels via tiny tubes, the attraction of water particles to themselves and the tubes causes the movement up the plant stem

3. Osmosis:

Water from the soil enters the roots, only when the concentration of water in the soil is greater than the concentration of water in the roots, the water particles will transfer over

Seed PARTS

Life cycle of a plant

Germination:

Is the development of a seed into a new plant.

Reproduction of Seed Plants

Pollination:

Occurs when pollen is transferred from the anther to the stigma and fertilizes the ovaries of the flower

Male part:

Pollen Grains (contains pollen) - Small sticky cells—

Female part: 

 Ovary (center of the blossom) - Contains an OVULE (egg)

›-Pollination occurs when the Pollen Grain lands on the Stigma of the flower (above the ovary) 

- A pollen tube is formed growing down the Stigma into the Ovule

- Cells then transfer and the Ovule grows into a seed

Pollination & Seed Dispersal 

• Air and Wind
• Water
• Pollinators (organisms that carry pollen from one flower to another)

•  Pollinators come in search of nectar (food) and by moving to feed they cover themselves in pollen transporting it to the next landing site where it sticks to the stigma of a flower. 

Reproduction WITHOUT Seeds

Vegetative Reproduction:

• Reproductive process that is asexual and so does not involve separate male and female parts
• Asexually reproduced plants are genetically identical!

Production of new plants from sources other than seed:

• Cuttings - small pieces of a plant usually the stem create new roots and is planted
• Root runners - off shoots that sprout into new plants
• Grafting  - attaching one part of the plant to another having the two sections grow together

Basic Needs for Plant Growth

Plants need the right conditions to grow successfully!!

Light:

• The need of light for photosynthesis
• Not all plants need the same amount of light

Water:

• Plants need water to survive (used in nutrient transport & photosynthesis) 
• However TOO MUCH water will cause plants cells to burst and die!

Water used to make food

Nutrients:

• Substance that provides the materials needed for the plant to grow successfully (think building blocks)

• Nutrients needed to grow properly are

  • Nitrogen
  • Phosphorous
  • Potassium
  • Calcium
  • Magnesium

Activity - small groups (2-3 students)

• Create a brief slideshow (3-6 slides) of 3 different plants that we use for food and fibre
• Showcase each plant (use an image), where it can be found in the world, and weather it is 'wild' or farmed
• Inform the audience whether the plant is used for food or fibre:
  • Rice used in many dishes around the world (food)
  • Cinnamon tree bark is used as a spice (food)
  • Maple is used as a fibre to build furniture (fibre)
  • Spruce trees used for paper (fibre)
  • Cotton used for clothing garmets (fibre)