Non-Flowering Plants
The world is filled with lots and lots of plants. Some plants have vegetables growing on them.
Some plants give us flowers that are pretty and smell good. And some plants don’t give us vegetables or flowers—they just stay green.
These are called non-flowering plants.
There are many different kinds of non-flowering plants that have many different jobs in nature. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Grass – The grass growing in your yard and in the park you play in is not the only kind of grass there is. There are hundreds of different kinds of grass.
Most grass grows in the dirt, but there are some grasses that grow best in the water. Duckweed, water lilies and watercress are three common kinds of water grass.
Farmers must make sure they have fields filled with healthy grass for their animals to eat. Fescue and alfalfa are two of a farmer’s favorite types of grass because cows, sheep and horses like the way they taste.
Trees – Most trees are non-flowering plants. The leaves of the trees have a very important job, though, because they give us much of the oxygen we have to have to breathe and live. Trees also provide shade for other plants (and people, too) and give the birds and squirrels a place to call home.
Ferns – Ferns are different from most other kinds of non-flowering plants. That is because ferns do no grow from seeds. Ferns grow from spores. Spores are cells that can grow into new plants without having to germinate. Spores grow on the underside of the fern’s fronds (leaves). They look like little brown dots. When the spores are mature, they get hard and fall off the frond and land on the ground. Once the spore is on the ground it can grow into a new fern.
Ferns are popular house plants because they are easy to grow. They can’t spend too much time in the hot sun, but they like it when they get plenty of fresh air and water.
Bugs are tougher than plants
Evergreens. Evergreens are a type of tree. Pine trees and cedar trees are evergreens. They are called evergreens because they stay green all year round. They do not lose their leaves (or needles) like most trees do each fall. That’s why evergreens make such great Christmas trees!
Vines – Vines are plants that do not have a single stem or trunk that the rest of the plant grows out of. No, vines spread out in all directions and roots can grow from just about any part of the plant. Ivy is a common vine that grows on the ground, in rocky places and even on the side of a building.
House plants – Most house plants are non-flowering plants. There are hundreds of different kinds of house plants. House plants look nice, but they also help keep the air in your house clean by killing germs and giving you plenty of oxygen to breathe.
Non-flowering plants may not be as colorful as a plant with flowers and they may not give you anything good to eat, but they do help make the earth a great place to live.
How many different kinds of non-flowering plants can you find?
