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The parts of a plant: root, stem, leaves, flower and fruit

Around age 7 · Usually taught in ⁨Year 1⁩ · Free

Aprende

  1. A plant has parts. Each part has its own name and its own place. The five we are going to learn about are the root, the stem, the leaves, the flower and the fruit.

    rootflowerfruitstemleaf
    The parts of a plant

  2. The root grows under the ground. It is thin and spreads through the soil. That is why we hardly ever see it. Almost all the other parts are above the ground.

    The root is under the ground

  3. The stem comes out of the ground and grows upwards. It can be thin and soft, or thick and hard. The trunk of a tree is its stem. The leaves grow out of the stem. They are flat and almost always green.

    The flower has colours. When the flower wilts, the fruit appears. The fruit holds the seeds. Some fruits are sweet, like the apple, and others are not, like the tomato. A small plant may not have a flower or fruit yet.

    Some parts of plants can be eaten. The carrot is a root. Lettuce is leaves. The apple is a fruit.

    rootleavesfruit
    Parts we eat

  4. Inside the fruit there are seeds. A new plant grows from a seed, with its root, its stem and its leaves.

    has insidegrows into afruitseednew plant
    From the fruit to a new plant

Worked examples

Ejemplo 1

Julie is looking at a plant in the garden. She wants to know which part is under the ground. Which is it?

  1. Look at where each part is.
  2. The stem, the leaves, the flower and the fruit are above the ground.
  3. The part that is under the ground is the root.

The part that is under the ground is the root.

¡Ojo! Many children point to the stem, because it touches the ground too.

Common mistake

Ejemplo 2

Ellie buys a carrot in Mara’s shop. Which part of the plant is it?

  1. The carrot grows under the ground.
  2. Its green leaves come out at the top, above the ground.
  3. The part that grows under the ground is the root.

The carrot is a root.

¡Ojo! Many children say it is a fruit, because you eat it.

Common mistake

Ejemplo 3

Tony cuts an apple in half and sees some pips. Which part of the plant is the apple?

  1. The pips are seeds.
  2. The fruit is the part that holds the seeds.
  3. The apple holds them: it is a fruit.

The apple is a fruit.

¡Ojo! Many children think the apple is not a part of the plant, because you buy it in the shop.

Common mistake

Un reto para pensar

With an adult, find a plant in the street, in the park or in a plant pot. Look at where its stem and leaves are, and whether it has a flower or fruit. Draw it and write the name of each part. Do not pull it up.

Practica

Rondas de 10 preguntas. Elige el nivel:

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