• Plants are living thing that need air, water and food to survive.

• One of the distinct feature of the plants is that they can make their own food.

• They have a green pigment called chlorophyll which enable the plants to trap light energy from the sun to make food. Although some plant do not appear as green but they still contain chlorophyll. It is found under the coloured substance of the plant.

• Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that can later be released to fuel the organisms' activities

• Plants have different shapes.

Dome-shape pine tree	Fan-shape palm tree	Umbrella-shaped rain tree

• They live in different places.
  • They can be found on land (garden, forest and field) and water (pond, river and sea).

Rose, Frangipani and Bougainvillea are garden plants.

Rain tree is a forest plant.

Grass, Mimosa and Lalang are field plants.

Water plants can be found in the pond, river and sea. They can be completely submerged, partially submerged or float in water.

• ⇒ Hydrilla is a completely submerged plant.
• ⇒ Water lily is a partially submerged plant.
• ⇒ Water hyacinth float on water.

Plants like animals, they are living things. They need air, food and water to stay alive. They can grow. Can move but in a fixed position. Response to change around them. Reproduce. They eventaully die.

Parts of a plant The plant comprises of the following parts: leaves flowers fruits stem root

Leave

The leave help the plant to breathe and make food.

The different parts of a leaf are the stalk, blade, veins, apex and base.

Leave differ in their shapes, edges, veins and arrangement.

Different types of leaf shapes

Butterfly-shaped leaf	Heart-shaped leaf	Lance-shaped leaf	Oval-shaped leaf
Palm-shaped leaf	Round-shaped leaf

There are different type of edges the leaf can have:

There are different type of veins the leaf can have:

There are different type of leaf arrangement:

A compound leaf is made of seperate leaflets attached by a petiole to the stem. E.g. Flame of the forest.
Simple leaf is made up of a single blade connected by a petiole to the stem. E.g. Rose

Different shapes of the flower:

• Flowers can be brightly coloured or dull in colour
• Brightly-coloured flowers can attract insect for pollination.
• Flowers can have no smell, a pleasant smell or an unpresant smell.
• The smell of the flower can attract insert or prevent other animal from drawing near to it.
• E.g. Rose and chrysanthemum has a pleasant smell, Bougainvillea has no smell and Rafflesia has an unpleasant smell.

Different type of flower arragement:

• Tulip grow singly
• Hydrangea grow in clusters

Fruit

• There are many different types of fruits.
• They vary in sizes, shapes, skin texture, colours and number of seeds.

Shape

• Round - Watermelon
• Long-shaped - Papaya
• Star-shaped e.g. star fruit

Skin texture

• Smooth skin e.g. Papaya
• Rough skin e.g. Orange
• Hairy skin e.g. Rambutan
• Thorny skin e.g. Durain

Fruit also various in number of seeds. e.g. Banana has no seed, Mango has one seed, Apple has few seeds, Watermelon has multiple seeds.

Some fruit can be eaten (edible) e.g. Pear, lychee, mango and some cannot be eaten (Inedible) e.g. Angsana, shorea and balsam.

Stem

Stem is to support the branches and leaves of the plant. There are 2 main types of stem

1. Woody e.g. tree and shrubs
2. Non-woody stems e.g. Morning glory

The stem of the trees are called trunks and they are covered with bark.E.g. Pong pong tree.

The shrubs are short and bushy. E.g. Hibicus Non-woody plants are green, fleshy and weak. Climbers are plants with weak non-woody stems that are unable to stand upright. They need a support to climb. E.g. Morning glory. Creepers are plants that usually have weak steems and are unable to stand upright. They are found on the ground. E.g. string bean and sweet potato.

Roots

• To hold the plant firmly to the ground.
• Absorb mineral salt and water.
• Most of the roots are found under the ground. However, the roots of some plants are found above the ground.

Undergroud roots

Roots above the ground

• Breathing roots take in air from the surrounding.
• Clasping roots grow from the node of the stem.
• Prop roots grow from the stem into the soil.

Plants are classified into different group.

• Flowering (e.g. rafflesia, orchid, rose) and non-flowering (e.g. bird's nest fern)
• Poisonous (e.g. poison ivy and pong pong) and non poisonous plants