Life Cycle of Plants

There are over 375,000 different species of plants on the earth. They range from tiny, single-celled algae to huge sequoia trees. Life on earth would not be possible without plants because they are the only living things that are capable of converting sunlight into energy. That energy fuels the other processes of life on earth.

Because plants make their own food, they are able to live almost everywhere on earth in a wide range of habitats. Many plants have developed special adaptations to help them survive.

Sample some of the following activities to learn more about the life cycle of plants.

Places To Go | People To See | Things To Do | Teacher Resources | Bibliography

Places To Go

The following are places to go (some real and some virtual) to find the life cycle of plants.

LichenLand
Visit LichenLand. Lichens are a successful alliance between a fungus and an alga. Only certain algae and certain fungi can get together to form a lichen. Find out all about the life cycle of lichen.

American Forests
Go to where the biggest trees are to learn about their life cycles. One giant sequoia in Sequoia National Park, California has a girth of 998 inches. Sequoia trees grow very slowly and do not even produce seeds until they are about 150 years old.

Ancient Bristle Cone Pine Forest
Travel to where the bristlecones pines are. They have a long life cycle. They can live for more than 5,000 years. The oldest living bristlecone pine tree is called Methuselah, and it is estimated to be about 4,700 years old. It was growing when the Egyptians built the pyramids! It is in the White Mountains of California.

People To See

Luther Burbank
Meet Luther Burbank, the famous horticulturist. "One of Burbank's objectives was to manipulate the characteristics of plants and thereby increase the world's food supply. One of his most interesting projects was the development of spineless cactus which could be grown in desert regions and provide forage for livestock. In his working career Burbank introduced more than 800 new varieties of plants-including over 200 varieties of fruits, many vegetables, nuts and grains, and hundreds of ornamental flowers."

Mad Scientist Network
The scientists at the Mad Science Network can fill you in on the life cycle of plants.

Green Algae
Meet some green algae. They are primitive members of the plant kingdom. They don't have roots, stems, leaves, or flowers, but photosynthesis does take place. Algae are important to aquatic life because they supply oxygen through this photosynthesis. Algae are also major players in the aquatic food chain.

Things To Do

Science Museum of Minnesota - Dandelion
Most people have dandelions in their yards. See how dandelion seeds are carried by the wind so that they can germinate as part of their life cycle.

Inside a Seed
Look inside a seed and discover the beginnings of a plant.

The Great Plant Escape
Hang out with Bud and Sprout and Detective LePlant to solve these plant mysteries. Mystery #1, In Search of Green Life contains many useful clues about the life cycles of plants.

Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is a wonder. The word photosynthesis means ''putting together with light.'' Find out how plants make food with light.

Garden Guides
Sometimes photosynthesis needs a helping hand. Find out how to make your plants grow vigorously.

Venus Fly Trap
Carnivorous bog plants are pretty cool. Find out about how they get their energy. (There is even an international society for people interested in carnivorous plants).

Fun Facts About Fungi
Fungi are not really plants. But they do have an interesting life cycle. Find out more.

Introduction to the Fungi
Discover some of the 50,000 species of fungi in the world. Mushrooms, toadstools, and molds are fungi. Fungi play an important role in nature. They break down dead organic material and continue the cycle of nutrients through ecosystems.

North American Lichen
Find out about the biology of lichens, see photos of lichens, and discover how they benefit humans, animals, and the environment.

Big Tree Life Cycle
Experience the life cycle of a giant sequoia. Then learn about the life cycle of a pine tree.

Trees
In order for the life cycle of a tree to begin, trees need to disperse their seeds in such a way that at least some of them will germinate. Find out how they do this.

Why Leaves Change Color
Discover why leaves change to red, gold, and orange in the fall.

Ethnobotany
Ethnobotany is the study of human relationship to plants, often involving study of ancient plant remains, oral history, written records,and myths. Find out how ethnobotanists discover which types of plants were growing thousands of years ago and how people used them.

A Guide to Deciduous Tree Knowledge
Figure out deciduous trees and temperate deciduous forests. How is a deciduous tree different from a coniferous tree?

Ringworm
Look at pictures of ringworm. This human ailment is not a worm at all--it's a fungus. So is athlete's foot.

Teacher Resources

Hotlists from UEN provide internet sites to visit to find out more about specific topics--in this case, the life cycle of plants! (You can learn how to use this WWW Activities tool created by UEN for Utah educators).

Lesson Plan/Webquests/

Activities

Bibliography

Benanti, Carol. There's A Fungus Among Us : Your Complete Fungus-growing Kit. New York : Grosset & Dunlap, c1996.
Bennett, Paul. Pollinating a Flower. New York : Thomson Learning, 1994.
Madgwick, Wendy. Fungi and Lichen. Austin, Tex. : Steck-Vaughn Library, 1990.
Pascoe, Elaine. Slime Molds and Fungi. Woodbridge, CT : Blackbirch Press, c1999.
Royston, Angela. Strange Plants. Des Plaines, Ill. : Heinemann Library, 1999.
Silverstein, Alvin. Photosynthesis. Brookfield, Conn. : Twenty-First Century Books, c1998.