Science Facts - VI

Plant kingdom

Tree resin which has been fossilized is known as amber, it sometimes contains plant material or small animals that were trapped inside.

Some plants are carnivores, gaining nutrients by eating various small insects and spiders. A well known example of a carnivorous plant is the Venus Flytrap.

Bamboo can be a fast growing plant, some types can grow almost a metre (3.28 feet) in just one day!

While using energy from sunlight, plants turn carbon dioxide into food in a process called photosynthesis.

Around 2000 different types of plants are used by humans to make food.

Onions might taste good but they can be painful to chop. A gas is released when you cut onions that irritates you eyes, the tears you produce while this happens are your body’s way of washing it from your eyes.

In the agricultural industry, to ensure crops of food grow well water is often added to soil in the form of irrigation.

Plant matter found at the bottom of areas with water such as swamps can eventually turn into coal due to a process called metamorphosis (changing form).

There are over 200,000 identified plant species and the list is growing all the time.

Poison ivy produces a skin irritant called urushiol. Touching poison ivy will cause an allergic reaction, usually in the form of an itchy rash on the skin.

Fertilizers are chemicals added to plants to help them grow. Important elements in fertilizers include nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Manure (animal waste) is also used as a fertilizer.