Seed
The plant life cycle starts with a seed. From the outside, seeds are protected by a tough layer, called Outer Coat. But inside every seed, there is a tiny baby plant, known as an embryo. The embryo has a root, shoot as well as the first true leaves. Seeds wait to germinate until three needs are met:- water, correct temperature (warmth), and a good location (such as in soil) -- Aarav
Seeds are much like babies of animals. Seeds contain the embryo of the plants with necessary food and an outer coating for protection.
The seeds are dispersed across the land in many ways, such as moving water, wind, animals, and humans. When they fall on the rich soil with necessary things, such as water and the right temperature, they germinate and start their journey of life -- Zane
Seeds come in various shapes and can range from invisible to quite large. Every seed contains an embryo, or miniature version of the plant, ready to sprout and grow when conditions are right. In addition to the embryo, seeds also contain food for the plant to begin its journey, the beginnings of a root structure -- Reeya
Germination
The next stage is germination. Did you know? Before a seed germinates, it is DORMANT (means, alive but inactive). For germination, seeds need a suitable condition i.e. water, correct temperature and right location (such as in soil) When the proper conditions are met for the seed, it will begin to sprout. The first root begins to grow downward. There are few tiny hairs on the roots which absorb water and minerals from the soil. --Myra
Germination: When the conditions in the soil are just right, the seed germinates. First, it breaks the outer coating and begins growing its first roots and leaves. -- Nishtha
Growth
In this stage the germinated sprout grows into a full-grown plant, the stem extends and grows in height, the leaves are formed, the roots grow deeper, and branches appear. The plant draws more water and nutrients from the soil as it grows. Flowers also appear during this stage -- Tara
Seedling
When the first sign of life from a seed appears out of the soil, it is called a seedling. As soon as the roots and leaves appear, they start their work, i.e. roots absorb water and nutrients, and leaves make food by photosynthesis --Nishtha
The next step is seedling. A very young plant that grows after germination. It starts growing towards the sunlight. Plants need sunlight, nutrients, water, and air to survive and grow. Photosynthesis helps the seedling grow into a mature plants -- Aviva
Germination begins when, under the right conditions, the seed absorbs water and swells, breaking the seed coat. It then grows a tiny root called a radicle which anchors the plant and absorbs water. With this in place, it sends a shoot (plumule) that eventually sprouts above ground. When this happens, it is called a seedling -- Reeya
Plant growth could be defined as the increase of plant volume and/or mass with or without the formation of new structures such as organs, tissues, cells or cell organelles. Growth is usually associated with development (cell and tissue specialization) and reproduction (production of new individuals) -- Aarin K
Life cycle of Plants(2)
Adult Plants
Adult Plant-When a plant becomes mature, it starts to grow flowers (in a flowering plant) and flowers produce seeds. A mature plant has leaves, roots, stem, flower and fruits. Flowers are the reproductive part of a plant. It makes seeds which in turn make new plants. There are different parts of a flower such as petals, sepals, stamen, pistil etc. -- Amay
The first leaves of the seedling are called cotyledons. These are not proper leaves, but nutrient stores that were present in the seed with the embryo. These nourish the plant as it develops the capacity to harvest nutrients from its environment. Some plants, called monocotyledon, have only one cotyledon while others, called dicotyledons, have two. The plant then begins to develop its first proper leaves, called primary leaves. These leaves start the process of photosynthesis or turning the energy from sunlight, water, carbon dioxide into sugars that the plant uses for food. The plant does this by using chemicals called chloroplasts.
Many plants continue to grow upwards and form new leaves at the top of the stem (meristem), as well as downwards, growing more root hairs. This growth increases the number of nutrients it can gather and helps it withstand weather, disturbance from animals, and competition from other plants.-- Reeya
Pollination
Pollination plays a very important role in the plant life cycle. Flowers use pollen to make seeds through a process called pollination. Pollen is transferred by different pollinators, such as birds, butterflies, insects, bees or even wind. pollination process: When a butterfly or other insect lands on a flower, dust or pollen sticks to its legs. As the butterfly flies to the next plant, it transfers the pollen to the pistil -- Aarav, Ishaanvi
Fun Facts
Did you know?
The fruit of the dynamite tree (also known as Sandbox tree) explodes with a loud bang, firing seeds 100 ft. away.
Reproductive stage
In the reproductive stage of life, the plant flowers are fertilized and produce seeds. At the beginning of the reproductive stage, the plant grows a small bud. Inside the bud, a tiny flower begins to form, protected by the surrounding sepals. Eventually, the bud opens to reveal a mature flower which is the reproductive part of the plant. Flowers usually have brightly coloured petals or strong scents to attract pollinators. The male part of the flower is called the stamen, and the female part is called the pistil. Some plants have both parts in the same flower, while others have only a male or female part per flower. The stamen carries pollen on the anther, a tiny pouch, which is supported by long filaments. The pistil has three parts: Stigma - Sticky and traps and holds pollen Style - Tube that holds the stigma
Ovaries - Where the seeds form --Reeya
Seed Dispersal
Finally, seeds get dispersed (scattered) away to new places and the plant life cycle starts again. Seeds can get spread by animals, wind, and water -- Aviva
Seed dispersal is the movement, spread or transport of seeds away from the parent plant. … There are five main modes of seed dispersal: gravity, wind, ballistic, water, and by animals. Some plants are serotines and only disperse their seeds in response to an environmental stimulus -- Deyaan
After the production of seeds, the plants need a way to disperse (spread) these seeds to favourable places where they can germinate and start their life cycle. Most of the time, nature does the job of dispersion for the plants through winds, moving water, and animals. But there are also plants whose seeds are surrounded by fibers that help them to glide in the air upon falling from the plant. During their glide, they reach very far distances and start their life away from their parent plants --Nishtha
After pollination, the seeds become reproductively viable. A protective layer, called the fruit, forms around the seeds. Some fruits are large and fleshy like an apple, others are dry as the white parachute of a dandelion -- Reeya