Community Magazine October 2019

102 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE Peleh the BoyWonder HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED… Are plants living things? P lants are living things, just like people and animals. In order for something to be classified as a living thing, it needs to be able to perform certain life processes: It must have the ability to grow and die; the ability to reproduce; the ability to get rid of waste; and the need for energy, nutrients, air, and water. Additionally, it needs to be made up of cells. Plants are divided into two main groups. The larger group contains the plants that produce seeds. These are the angiosperms (plants that have flowers, referred to as “flowering plants”) and the gymnosperms (plants that make seeds in cones, such as cycads, gingkoes, and conifers). The smaller group contains the seedless plants. This group includes mosses, liverworts, horsetails, and ferns. Botanists have so far named over 400,000 different plant species, 300,000 of which are seed-producing plants. Child Prodigy PelehWunder – more commonly known as Peleh the BoyWonder Did You Know? Most medicines, except antibiotics, come from flowering plants or were first found in flowering plants. Flowering Plants Flowering plants are the most successful and most numerous plants on Earth and can be found just about anywhere on the planet. Flowering plants are divided into two groups: monocots and dicots. Monocots usually have narrow leaves and three (or multiples of three) petals. Examples include lilies, palms, and orchids. Dicots have broad leaves with a central vein that connects to a smaller network of veins. They have four or five (or multiples of four or five) petals. Examples include magnolias, buttercups, and poppies.