CHAPTER - 7

GETTING TO KNOW PLANTS

CLASS :- VI
SUBJECT :- SCIENCE
1) Classification of plants :-
Most plants can be classified as herbs, shrubs
or trees.
a) Herbs:- are short plants having soft stems and
may not have branches. Eg:- balsam, spinach,
grass, rice wheat etc.
b) Shrubs :- are medium sized plants with hard
stem and has many branches in the lower part
of the stem. Eg:- rose, tulsi, croton, lemon,
orange etc.
c) Trees :- are tall plants with hard and thick stem
and has many branches in the upper part of the
stem. Eg:- banyan, neem, mango tree, sesham,
jamun tree etc.
Herbs Shrubs

Trees
2 a) Climbers :- are plants with weak stems
which climbs on a support.
Eg:- money plant, pepper plant, snake gourd,
bitter gourd, grape plant etc.
b) Creepers :- are plants with weak stems
which spread on the ground.
Eg:- grass, pumpkin, water melon etc.
3) Parts of a plant and their functions :-
The main parts of a plant are root, stem, branches, leaf,
flower and fruit.
3) Functions of the stem :-
a) The stem conducts water and minerals from the roots
to the upper parts of the plant.
b) The stem transports food from the leaves to the other
parts of the plant.
c) The stem transports food from the leaves to
the other parts of the plant.

Activity :- To show that the stem conducts water and

minerals.
Take a glass and pour some water to it. Add a few
drops of red ink to it. Cut the base of the stem of a
herb and put it in the glass. Observe the plant the next
day. The stem appears red in colour. This shows that
the stem conducts water and minerals.
4) Leaf :-
a) Parts of a leaf :-
The main parts of a leaf are petiole, lamina, midrib and
veins. The part of the leaf attached to the stem is called
petiole. The broad green part is called lamina. The
lines in the leaf are called veins. The vein in the middle
is called midrib.
b) Venation :-
The design of the veins in the leaf is called
venation. There are two types of venation in
leaves. They are reticulate venation and parallel
venation.
i) Reticulate venation :- If the design of the veins in
the leaf is like a net, it is called reticulate
venation. Eg:- The leaves of rose, tulsi, banyan
mango etc. have reticulate venation.
ii) Parallel venation :-
If the design of the veins in the leaf is parallel, it
is called parallel venation. Eg:- The leaves of rice,
wheat, maize, sugarcane, grass etc. have parallel
venation.
5) Functions of leaf :-
a) The leaf prepares food for the plant.
b) The leaf helps in the exchange of gases.
c) The leaf gives out water in the form of water vapour.

6) Photosynthesis :-
The process by which leaves prepare food by using
sunlight, water, carbon dioxide and chlorophyll is
called photosynthesis.
Activity :- To show that leaf prepares food :-
Put a leaf in a test tube. Pour some spirit into it. Put
the test tube in a beaker containing some water. Heat
the beaker till the green colour from the leaf comes out
of the leaf into the spirit. Then take out the leaf and
wash it. Add some iodine solution to the leaf. It turns
blue black. This shows that the leaf contains starch.
7) Transpiration :-
The process by which leaves give out water in
the form of water vapour through the stomata is
called transpiration.

Activity :- To show that the leaves give out water

in the form of water vapour
Select a herb growing in the sun. Cover a leafy
branch with a polythene bag and tie its mouth with
a thread. After a few hours water droplets are seen
in the polythene bag. This shows that leaves give
out water through the leaves.
8) Functions of root :-
i) The roots hold the plant firmly to the soil.
ii) The roots absorb water and minerals from the
soil.
Activity :- To show that rrots absorb water and
minerals from the soil
Take two plants of the same kind. Plant one of
them in a pot. Cut the root of the other plant and
plant it in another pot. Water both the plants for a
week. The plant with roots will be healthy. The
plant without root will not be healthy because it did
not have roots to absorb water and minerals.
9) Types of roots :-
There are two main types of roots. They are
tap root and fibrous roots.
a) Taproot :- has a main root and many smaller
roots called lateral roots. Eg:- rose, tulsi
balsam, croton etc.
The leaves of plants which have tap root have
reticulate venation.
b) Fibrous roots :- do not have a main root. They
have many similar fibre like roots. Eg:- rice,
wheat maize, grass etc.
The leaves of plants which have fibrous roots
have parallel venation.
10) Flower :-
The main parts of a flower are sepals, petals,
stamen and pistil.
a) Sepals are leaf like structures at the bottom of
the flower.
b) Petals are the brightly coloured parts of the
flower.
c) Stamens are long thin structures inside the
flower. It has a filament and anther. The anther
contains pollen grains.
d) Pistil is the innermost part of the flower. Its
upper part is called stigma. The middle part is
called style and the lower part is called ovary.
The ovary contains ovules. The ovary
develops into the fruit and the ovules develop
into seeds.
Parts of a flower
 Parts of a flower
Petals

Stamen Pistil

Ovary and Ovules