4 Getting to Know Plants

G
o outside and observe all the the school, in the parks and gardens,
plants around you (Fig. 4.1). isn’t it?
Do you see that some plants Let us get to know the different
are small, some very big, while some parts of any plant. This will help us
are just patches of green on
the soil? Some have green
leaves, while some others have
reddish ones. Some have huge
red flowers, some have tiny
blue ones, while some have
none. We do see a variety of
plants existing all around us
— near our homes, in the
school ground, on the way to

Flower
Fig. 4.1 A Nature walk!

understand the differences between

Fruit plants of different kinds. Can you label
the stem, branch, root, leaf, flower and
Stem
Leaf Shoot fruit of the plant shown in Fig.4.1?
system Colour the parts of the plant.
4.1 HERBS, SHRUBS AND TREES
Node
Activity 1
Internode { Bud Look closely at the stem and branches
of:
1. Plants much smaller than you.
Primary 2. Plants that are about your size, and
root Root 3. Plants which are much taller than
Secondary system
root you.
Feel their stem and try to bend them
Fig. 4.2 Parts of a plant gently to see if they are tender or hard.

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 Table 4.1 Categories of plants

Take care that the stem does not break. 2 and 3 for many more plants.
Hug the tall plants to see how thick their Fill Column 4 later after studying
stems are! the section.
We also need to notice from where the Based on these characters most
branches grow in some plants — close to plants can be classified into three
the ground or higher up on the stem. categories: herbs, shrubs and trees. An
We will now group all the plants we example of each is shown in Fig.4.3.
observed, in Table 4.1. Some examples
are shown. You can fill the Columns 1,

Suggestion: Student can work in

groups of 4–5 so that a minimum
number of plants are harmed/
damaged.
You may also use weeds with soft (a)
stems for the activities. Do you know
what weeds are? In crop fields, lawns,
or in pots, often some unwanted
plants or weeds start growing. Have
you seen farmers removing these (b) (c)
weeds from their fields?
Fig.4.3 (a) Herb, (b) shrub and (c) tree

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 Plants with green and tender stems
are called herbs. They are usually short
and may not have many branches
[Fig.4.3 (a)].
Some plants develop branches near
the base of stem. The stem is hard but
not very thick. Such plants are called
shrubs [Fig.4.3(b)].
Some plants are very tall and have
hard and thick stem. The stems have
branches in the upper part, much above
the ground. Such plants are called trees Fig. 4.4 Creepers Fig. 4.5 Climbers
[Fig.4.3(c)].
Based on the above characteristics two trees, shrubs, herbs or creepers
can you now classify the plants listed growing in your house or school.
by you and complete column 4 in
4.2 STEM
Table 4.1?
Observe closely the stems of different
plants around you. Note down different
structures/parts borne by
Paheli wonders what kind of stem — the the stem. Compare you
money plant, beanstalk, gourd plants and observations with the that of
grape vines have. Do observe some of these
your friends. What do you
plants. How are these different from a herb,
a shrub or a tree? Why do you find? Stems bear leaves,
think some of them need support branches, buds, flowers
to climb upwards? and fruits.

Activity 2
We would require a glass, water, red/
Plants with weak stems that cannot blue ink and a soft stem. Pour water to
stand upright but spread on the ground fill one-third of the glass. Add a few
are called creepers (Fig.4.4), while those drops of red/blue ink to the water. Cut
that take support and climb up are called the base of the stem and put it in the
climbers (Fig.4.5). These are different glass as shown in Fig.4.6.
from the herbs, shrubs and trees. Observe the set-up. Does the colour
Perhaps there are some plants in appear in the stem? You will find that
your school or at home that you take the colour rises in the stem. If this is
care of. Write down the names of any kept for a longer period, the colour

GETTING TO KNOW PLANTS 33

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 Lamina Stem

Petiole

Fig. 4.8 A leaf

Let us get to know the leaf better by

taking its impression! If you thought
Fig. 4.6 Stem in a glass with coloured water
that leaves cannot sign, here is an
appears in the veins of leaves also. How activity which will make you think again.
do you think the colour reached there?
Activity 3
From this activity, we see that the
stem helps in upward movement of Put a leaf under a white sheet of paper
water. The water and minerals go to or a sheet in your notebook. Hold it in
leaves and other plant parts attached to place as shown in Fig. 4.9. Hold your
the stem. pencil tip sideways and rub it on the
portion of the paper having the leaf below
it. Did you get an impression with some
lines in it? Are they similar to those on
the leaf?
These lines on
the leaf are called
(a) (b) veins. Do you see
Fig. 4.7 (a) Water moves up the stem and a prominent line
reaches leaves in the middle of the
(b) Enlarged view of open end of stem
leaf? This is called
4.3 LEAF the midrib. The
design made by Fig. 4.9 Taking an
Observe the leaves of some plants impression of a leaf
around you and draw them in your veins in a leaf is
notebook. Are all the leaves of same size, called the leaf venation. If this design is
shape and colour? net-like on both sides of midrib, the
How are leaves attached to the stem? venation is reticulate [Fig. 4.10 (a)]. In
The part of leaf by which it is attached the leaves of grass you might have seen
to the stem is called petiole. The broad, that the veins are parallel to one another.
green part of the leaf is called lamina This is parallel venation [(Fig. 4.10 (b)].
(Fig. 4.8). Can you identify these parts Observe the venation in as many leaves
of the leaves in plants around you? Do as you can without removing them from
all the leaves have petioles? the plant. Draw the pattern and write

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Midrib Veins Transparent
polythene
cover/bag

(a) (b)
Fig. 4.10 Leaf venation (a) reticulate and
(b) parallel Fig. 4.11 What does the leaf do?
names of some plants having reticulate cover? What makes the water appear on
and parallel venation. the polythene bag? In Chapter 5, we
Shall we now find out some of the noticed water changing into different
functions of a leaf? forms in some of our activities. Can you
Activity 4 think of these and name the process that
makes water drops appear on the
We will require a herb, two transparent polythene cover?
polythene bags and thread. Leaves also have another function.
Do this activity during day time on a Let us study this.
sunny day. Use a healthy, well watered
plant that has been growing in the sun. Activity 5
Enclose a leafy branch of the plant in a We would require a leaf, spirit, a beaker,
polythene cover and tie up its mouth as test tube, burner, water, a watch glass
shown in Fig. 4.11. Tie up the mouth of and iodine solution for this activity.
another empty polythene cover and keep Take a leaf in a test tube and pour
it also in the sun. spirit to completely immerse the leaf.
After a few hours, observe the inner
surface of the covers. What do you see?
Are there any droplets of water? How do Green
leaf Iodine
you think they got there? [Don’t forget
solution
to remove the polythene bag after the Blue
activity!] Black
Water comes out of leaves in the form coloured
leaf
of vapour by a process called
transpiration. Plants release a lot of water
into the air through this process.
Why did we tie a cover around the
leaves? Would we have seen the water
evaporate if we had not tied a polythene Fig. 4.12 What does the leaf contain?

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 Note: Since the activity involves the
use of spirit and heating, it is advised
that it is demonstrated by the teacher
in the class.

Now, place the test tube in a beaker half

filled with water. Heat the beaker till all
the green colour from the leaf comes out
into the spirit in the test tube. Take out
the leaf carefully and wash it in water.
Fig. 4.13 Watering the plants
Place it on a watch glass and pour some
iodine solution over it (Fig. 4.12). Which part of the plant is in the soil?
What do you observe? Compare your Let us learn more about this part from
observations with those done in the following activities.
Chapter 1, when you tested food for
presence of different nutrients. Does this Activity 6
mean that the leaf has starch in it? You would require two pots, some soil,
In Chapter 1, we saw that a slice of khurpi (for digging), blade or a pair of
raw potato also shows the presence of scissors and water. This activity is to be
starch. Potatoes get this starch from done in groups of 4-5 students.
their leaves and store it. Leaves prepare Select two plants of the same kind
their food in the presence of sunlight from an open ground and dig them out
and a green coloured substance present with roots. Take care that their roots do
in them. For this, they also use water
not break. Plant one of them in pot A
and carbon dioxide. This process is
[Fig. 4.14 (a)]. Cut off the roots from the
called photosynthesis. Oxygen is given
out in this process. The food prepared
by leaves ultimately gets stored in
different parts of plant.
We have seen that the stem supplies
leaf with water. The leaf uses the water
to make food. The leaves also lose water
through transpiration. How do the stem
and leaves get water? That is where the
roots come in!
4.4 ROOT A B

Look at Fig. 4.13. Who do you think is (a) (b)

watering their plant correctly, Paheli or Fig. 4.14 (a) Plant with roots, and
Boojho? Why? (b) without roots

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other plant and plant it in pot B [Fig. holding the plant firmly to the soil. They
4.14 (b)]. Water them regularly. Observe anchor the plant to the soil.
the plants after a week. Are both plants You have seen that there are different
healthy? kinds of stems and leaves. Do the roots
Both the plants are watered also show a variety? Let us find out.
regularly, but, one is without roots, isn’t
Activity 8
it? Does this activity help you
understand an important function of the Study Fig. 4.16 (a) and (b) carefully.
root? Now, look at the roots of the gram plants
Let us do an activity to study another you have pulled out from the cotton in
function of root. the previous activity. Do they look like
the roots shown in Fig. 4.16 (a) or those
Activity 7 in Fig. 4.16 (b)? How about the roots of
We would require seeds of gram and
maize, cotton wool, katori (bowl) and
some water.
Take two katoris (bowl). Place some
wet cotton in them. Put 3 or 4 seeds of
gram in one and maize in the other.
Keep the cotton wet by sprinkling (a) (b)
water every day, until the sprouts have
Fig 4.16 (a) Roots of_______________
grown into young plants. After a week
(b) Roots of_______________
try to separate the young plants from
the cotton (Fig. 4.15). maize plant? Write ‘gram’ or ‘maize’ in
the blank spaces in the figure after
matching the roots with the figures.
In what way are the roots of gram
and maize similar? In what way are they
different? There seem to be two different
types of roots, isn’t it? Are there also
other types of roots? Let us find out.
Activity 9
Fig. 4.15 Young plants grown on cotton
Go to an open ground where many wild
Was it easy to separate the cotton plants are growing. Dig out a few, wash
from the roots? Why? the soil off the roots and observe them.
In Activity 6, we could not pull out Do you find that all of them have either
the plants from the soil, right? We dug the kind of roots shown in Fig. 4.17 (a)
them out. This is because roots help in or as in Fig. 4.17 (b)?

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 a very interesting way? In Table 4.2, can
you match the type of leaf venation and
the type of roots for some plants you have
studied in all the activities so far?
Table 4.2 Types of roots and types of
leaf venation

Name of Type of leaf Type of

plant venation roots

(a) (b)

Fig. 4.17 (a) Taproot and (b) fibrous roots We have learnt that roots absorb
water and minerals from the soil and
For roots of the kind shown in
the stem conducts these to leaves and
Fig.4.17 (a), the main root is called tap
root and the smaller roots are called other parts of the plant. The leaves
lateral roots. Plants with roots as shown prepare food. This food travels through
in Fig. 4.17 (b) do not have a main root. the stem and is stored in different parts
All roots seem similar and these are of plant. We eat some of these as roots—
called fibrous roots. like carrot, radish, sweet potato, turnip
Separate the plants you have and tapioca. We also eat many other
collected into two groups. In group (a) parts of a plant where food is stored.
put those that have tap roots and in Do you agree that stem is like a street
group (b) those that have fibrous roots. with two way traffic (Fig. 4.18)? Write
Look at the leaves of the plants in Group the name of material that goes up in
(a). What kind of venation do they have? the stem and that which comes down.
What kind of venation do you see for
plants of Group (b)?
Do you notice that leaf venation and
the type of roots in a plant are related in

Boojho has a brilliant idea! If he

wants to know what kind of roots a
plant has, he need not pull it out.
He just has to look at its leaves! Fig. 4.18. Stem as two-way traffic street

In the next section, we will study

about the structure of a flower.

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4.5 FLOWER These are the petals. Different flowers
You are shown three branches of a rose have petals of different colours.
in Fig 4.19 (a), (b) and (c). Which one Where do you think the petals are in a
will help you best to recognise the plant? closed bud? Which is the most prominent
part in a bud? Did you see that this part
is made of small leaf-like structures? They
Petals

Sepals
(a) (b) (c)
Fig. 4.20 Bud and flower
Fig 4.19 Rose: (a) A leafless branch
(b) A branch with leaves
(c) A branch with leaves and flowers are called sepals. Take a flower and
observe its petals and sepals. Now,
Which colour did you use for the answer the following questions:
flower in Fig. 4.19 (c)? Are all flowers How many sepals does it have?
colourful? Have you ever seen flowers Are they joined together?
on grass, wheat, maize, mango or What are the colours of the petals
guava? Are those brightly coloured? and the sepals?
Let us study a few flowers. How many petals does the flower have?
When choosing flowers to study, avoid Are they joined to one another or are
using marigold, chrysanthemum or they separate?
sunflower. You will learn in higher Do the flowers with joint sepals have
classes that they are not single flowers, petals that are separate or are they also
but groups of flowers. joined together?
Fill the table based on the
observations of the whole class
Activity 10
(Table 4.3). Add observations to this
We would require one bud and two fresh table, from a field trip to a locality where
flowers each, of any of the following– there are plants with flowers. Fill the
datura, china rose, mustard, brinjal, last two columns later.
lady’s finger, gulmohur. Also a blade, a To see the inner parts of the flower
glass slide or a sheet of paper, a clearly, you have to cut it open, if its
magnifying glass and water. petals are joined. For example, in datura
Observe Fig. 4.20 carefully. Look at and other bell-shaped flowers, the petals
the prominent parts of the open flower. have to be cut lengthwise and spread

GETTING TO KNOW PLANTS 39

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 Table 4.3 Observations on flowers

Name of Number Number Are the Are the Stamens – are Pistil –
flower/ and colour and colour sepals joined petals joined they free or Present/
plant of sepals of petals or separate? or separate? joined to petals absent

Rose Many 5 (Colour?) Separate Free Present

(Colour?)

out so that the inner parts can be seen

clearly (Fig. 4.21).
Remove the sepals and petals to see
the other parts. Study the Fig. 4.22
carefully, compare your flower with the Anther
illustration and identify the stamens and
pistil in your flower.
Filament
Look at Fig 4.23 carefully. It shows
different kinds of stamens present in
different flowers. Can you recognise the Fig. 4.23 Parts of a stamen
two parts of the stamens in your flower?
How many stamens are there in your The innermost part
flower? Draw one stamen and label of flower is called the
Stigma
its parts. pistil. If you cannot see Style
it completely, remove
the remaining stamens.
Identify the parts of the
pistil with the help of Ovary

Fig. 4.24.
Draw a neat,
labelled diagram of the
Fig. 4.21 A bell-shaped flower Fig. 4.24 Parts
pistil of your flower. of a pistil

Anthers Activity 11
Let us now study the structure of ovary
(Fig. 4.24). It is the lowermost and
swollen part of the pistil. We will cut this
Stamens Pistil
part to study what is inside! Look at Fig.
4.25 (a) and (b) carefully to understand
Fig. 4.22 Parts of a flower how to cut the ovary of a flower.

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 Observe the inner parts of the ovary
using a lens (Fig. 4.26). Do you see some
small bead like structures inside the
ovary? They are called ovules. Draw and
label the inner parts of the ovary in your
notebook.
Try to find out the names of as many
flowers as you can by asking the
gardener or any other person.
Remember, not to pluck more flowers
than you need. Based on what you have
filled in Table 4.3, answer the following
(a) (b) questions.
Do all flowers have sepals, petals,
Fig. 4.25 Cutting an ovary (a) longitudinal cut
and (b) transverse cut
stamens and pistils? Are there flowers that
do not have one or more of these? Are
Cut the ovary in two different ways there flowers which have parts other than
as shown in Fig. 4.25. To prevent them these?
from drying, put a drop of water on Did you find any flower which has
each of the two pieces of the ovary, you no difference between sepals and petals?
have cut. Did you find any flower in which the
number of stamens is different from the
Ovules
number of petals?
Do you now agree that the structure
of the flower is not always the same?
The number of sepals, petals, stamens
and pistils may also be different in
different flowers. Some of these parts
may even be absent at times!
We have studied some features and
functions of leaves, stems and roots.
We studied the structure of different
(a) (b)
flowers. We will learn about the function
Fig. 4.26 Inner structure of an ovary of flowers in higher classes. We will also
(a) longitudinal cut, (b) transverse cut learn about fruits in higher classes.

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 Climbers Petiole
Conduct Photosynthesis
Creepers Pistil
Fibrous roots Reticulate venation
Herbs Sepal
Lamina Shrubs
Lateral roots Stamen
Midrib Taproot
Ovule T ranspiration
Parallel Venation T rees
Petal Veins

 Plants are usually grouped into herbs, shrubs and trees based on their
height, nature of stem and branches.
 The stem bears leaves, flowers and fruits.
 Leaf usually has a petiole and lamina.
 The pattern of veins on the leaf is called venation. It can be reticulate or
parallel.
 Leaves give out water vapour through the process of transpiration.
 Green leaves make their food by the process of photosynthesis using
carbon dioxide and water in the presence of sunlight.
 Roots absorb water and minerals from the soil. They also anchor the
plant firmly in the soil.
 Roots are mainly of two types: tap root and fibrous root.
 Plants having leaves with reticulate venation have tap roots while plants
having leaves with parallel venation have fibrous roots.
 The stem conducts water from roots to the leaves (and other parts) and
food from leaves to other parts of the plant.
 The parts of a flower are sepals, petals, stamens and pistil.

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 1. Correct the following statements and rewrite them in your notebook.
(a) Stem absorbs water and minerals from the soil.
(b) Leaves hold the plant upright.
(c) Roots conduct water to the leaves.
(d) The number of petals and stamens in a flower is always equal.
(e) If the sepals of a flower are joined together, its petals are also joined
together.
(f) If the petals of a flower are joined together, then the pistil is joined to the
petal.
2. Draw (a) a leaf, (b) a taproot and (c) a flower, you have studied for Table 4.3.
3. Can you find a plant in your house or in your neighborhood, which has a long
but weak stem? Write its name. In which category will you place it?
4. What is the function of a stem?
5. Which of the following leaves have reticulate venation?
Wheat, tulsi, maize, grass, coriander (dhania), China rose
6. If a plant has fibrous root, what type of venation do its leaves have?
7. If a plant has leaves with reticulate venation, what kind of roots will it have?
8. Is it possible for you to find out whether a plant has taproot or fibrous roots by
looking at the impression of its leaf on a sheet of paper?
9. What are the parts of a flower.
10. From the following plants, which of them have flowers?
Grass, maize, wheat, chilli, tomato, tulsi, peepal, shisham, banyan, mango, jamun,
guava, pomegranate, papaya, banana, lemon, sugarcane, potato, groundnut
11. Name the part of plant which produces food. Name the process.
12. In which part of a flower, you will find the ovary?
13. Name two plants in which one has joined sepals and the other has separate
sepals.

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 SUGGESTED PROJECT AND ACTIVITIES
1. BECOME A LEAF EXPERT
Do this activity with a number of leaves over a period of few weeks. For every
leaf that you wish to study, pluck it and wrap it in a wet cloth and take it
home. Now, place the leaf between the folds of a newspaper and place a
heavy book on it. You can also put it under your mattress or a trunk! Take
out the leaf after a week. Paste it on a paper and write a poem or story about
it. With your leaf collection pasted in a book, you can become an expert about
leaves!
2. Names of plant parts are hidden in this grid. Search them by going up, down,
diagonally, forward or backward. Have fun!

O V U L E L Y T S T E M

V E I N W Q H E R B P I

A N I M A L Z E X R N D

R F I L A M E N T M U R

Y A R A B L C O D B E I

L E E U O F O L G H I B

A L H I I R J A L K U R

T M T N O T P P Q R R A

E E N S T U F E H V W N

P Y A M G I T S Z Z N C

F L O W E R E H T N A H

S T A M E N N S E P A L

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