Introduction To Plants

Introduction to plants

The variety of plants
There is an enormous range of plants on earth. This variety of plants has many advantages:
* There is a large range of characteristics availablefor breeding from
* There is a great choice for use as raw materials
* They provide different sources of food for all kinds of animals
* They ensure a variety of shelter for animals
*By using up carbon dioxide and producing oxygen they help to keep the balance of gases in the atmosphere
* they form a vital part of the beauty of our planet
* If any species of plant isallowed to die out, the possible consequences are very serious both for man and for the other living things that share our planet. Here are a few of these possible consequences.
* Many plants representpotential resources (food or raw materials) which may become essential in the future. Lots of plants may contain valuable products which have not been discovered yet.
* Every plant provides foodand / or shelter for a variety of other organisms, some of which may only be able to live on that particular species.
* The genetic characteristics of a particular plant may turn out to be veryuseful. Biologists can transfer such characteristics from one species to another, and the loss of any species means a reduction in the total reserves of available genes.

Uses of plants

There arecountless ways in which man uses plants; here are the ones you should remember:
* As raw materials - e.g. timber for building
* As foods - e.g. wheat for making bread
* As medicines - e.g.foxgloves produce a medicine for treating heart problems
In almost every case people need to do some work in order to produce a pure and usable product from plants. You need to be aware of at leastone example of this. For example, the commercial production of timber also involves many stages; seeds are sown and raised in nurseries; weeding and feeding is important at this stage; the seedlings...