Garden Greenhorns: Plant Anatomy

an update from Garden Greenhorn and AmeriCorps VISTA Kelsey Grant

Learning and observing all the different structures and parts to a plant is extremely fascinating. During this discussion I kept having flashbacks to my high school biology class learning about this information. It was surprising to me how much information I was able to remember.

The Garden Greenhorns talked about 4 main organs that all plants have.  The four main organs are roots, stems, leaves, and flowers. We talked in depth about the make-up associated with each.

The first organ that was discussed was the roots. Roots are such an interesting thing! A root for a plant takes up soil nutrients, water, and oxygen. Carrie Hargrove talked about gravitropism, which is a chemical in each plant that makes the plant know for the root to grown down. “Put your roots down and make yourself stable” said Carrie. Was a perfect slogan to describe what is happening with the plants. The plants are trying to balance out and begin their growing.

Plant roots that we eat can be carrots, turnips, and radishes. For stems we eat asparagus, celery, and rhubarb. The leaves of a plant could be kale, spinach, onions, and lettuce. The last organ that we discussed was flowers. Cauliflower and broccoli are examples of flowers we eat of a plant. It is interesting to know that we eat different parts of plants.

What was later discussed was the relationship with plants and light. The two different factors include photosynthesis and photoperiodism. Photosynthesis includes using the sun’s energy to create sugar and oxygen. Photoperiodism refers to the amount of darkness a plant needs, which, to my surprise, is 10 hours! Plants need a balance of light and darkness.

As I continually learn about the environment encompassing plants and their biology, I’m reminded how important science is. Science is a part of everything. It is asking and answering the “what” to the “why questions”. Learning how plants get and use energy, the different parts of a plant that we eat, and the anatomy of plants is the baseline for further science and investigation. Science can be broken down into so many categories. Learning all these different layers is sparking the layers in my brain. The spark that I get from these topics gives me such a charge to keep learning more about the whole process of how we get the foods we eat!