Plant Types and Their Uses

Types of Plants

• Plants can be found in diverse environments such as mountains, deserts, and even underwater
• Plants have a variety of shapes, sizes, and features to adapt to different environments
• Trees are tall and big plants, for example, mango, coconut and gulmohar
• Trees have thick, hard stems called trunks
• Shrubs are plants with smaller stems that branch off near the ground such as rose, hibiscus and henna
• Shrubs have thin and woody stems
• Herbs are small plants with weak, thin, and green stems, for example, grass, mint and fenugreek
• Climbers are plants with very weak stems that need support to grow like the money plant
• Creepers are plants that have very weak stems and spread on the ground such as pumpkin

Uses of Plants

• Plants provide many things
• Fruits are nutritious and provide energy and essential vitamins
• Most ripe fruits are eaten, and some unripe ones are dried and preserved like mangoes in pickles
• Vegetables constitute an important part of our daily intake as plants store food in their roots, stems, leaves, fruits, or seeds
• Roots of plants include carrots, radishes, and turnips
• Stems of plants include potatoes, ginger, and garlic
• Leaves of plants include mint, spinach, and cabbage
• Fruits of plants include tomatoes, brinjals, and ladyfingers
• Seeds of plants include peas, pulses, and corn
• Vegetables offer essential vitamins, minerals, and fibre
• Cereals are nutritive food grains, where wheat and rice are the main cereals used in every Indian household
• Other cereals consumed are maize, jowar, and bajra
• Wheat is consumed mainly in north India and rice is consumed in most parts of India
• Pulses such as arhar, chana dal, moong, masoor, urad, and gram are rich in proteins
• Spices like turmeric, chilli, pepper, coriander, cinnamon, and cloves add flavour to dishes
• Beverages like tea, made from tea leaves, and coffee, made from coffee beans, are popular worldwide
• Oils like groundnut, coconut, sunflower, and mustard are extracted from plants for cooking purposes
• Olive oil is considered beneficial for heart health
• Fibres like cotton, jute, and hemp are used to make cloth, bags, ropes, and mats
• Medicines such as neem, tulsi, eucalyptus, and jamun are grown for their medicinal properties
• Eucalyptus oil can treat the common cold and neem is known for its benefits against skin infections

Leaves: The Food Factory

• Plants give out oxygen which is the most vital to breathe
• Plants release oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide while preparing their food
• Green leaves are the food production site for plants; the only organisms capable of producing their own nourishment
• Humans and animals rely directly or indirectly on plants for sustenance
• Plants make their food using water and carbon dioxide in the presence of sunlight
• Roots absorb water, the stem transports water to the leaves
• Leaves contain pores that absorb carbon dioxide from the air
• The green pigment in leaves captures sunlight
• Leaves produce sugar, releasing oxygen through pores in a process named Photosynthesis, where "photo" means light and "synthesis" signifies putting together
• Plants need water and minerals, sunlight, carbon dioxide, and green leaves for photosynthesis

Other Uses of Leaves

• People in south India use banana leaves as plates
• People in villages use dried palm and coconut leaves to make roofs
• People use mango and Ashoka leaves to decorate their houses