Plant Life Cycle

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A life cycle shows how a living thing grows and changes. While plants life cycles are continuous, the study of one plant’s life begins with the seed. We recommend watching the Parts of a Plant movie together as a review. Though we introduce the seed as a plant part that can grow into a new plant, it is important that children understand that plants can also grow from cuttings, bulbs, tuber pieces, or runners. Some seeds have an outer layer called a seed coat, which provides protection and nourishment for the embryo inside. When a seed germinates, a small root begins to grow downward and a shoot grows upward. When the shoot breaks the surface, the plant is called a sprout. The sprout uses water and nutrients from the soil along with sunlight and air to grow and change into a seedling. A seedling is a small plant with few leaves that is vulnerable to the elements. Eventually the seedling changes into a young adult plant. At this stage, the plant is bigger and may have more leaves. Thin branches will develop on young adult trees. Over time, the young adult plant will grow into an adult plant, which is sexually mature and has the ability to reproduce through spores or flowers. After flowers are pollinated, they enlarge and turn into fruit with seeds inside. The fruit protects the seeds and after it ripens, the seeds can start the life cycle all over again. Because there are so many threats to both seeds and seedlings, a plant will often produce large amounts of seeds to insure some will survive.