Plant Facts

• Tree resin which has been fossilized is known as amber, it sometimes contains plant material or small animals that were trapped inside. More tree facts for kids.
  
• Some plants are carnivores, gaining nutrients by eating various small insects and spiders. A well known example of a carnivorous plant is the Venus Flytrap.
  
• Bamboo can be a fast growing plant, some types can grow almost a metre (3.28 feet) in just one day!
  
• While using energy from sunlight, plants turn carbon dioxide into food in a process called photosynthesis.
  
• Around 2000 different types of plants are used by humans to make food.
  
• Onions might taste good but they can be painful to chop. A gas is released when you cut onions that irritates you eyes, the tears you produce while this happens are your body’s way of washing it from your eyes.
  
• In the agricultural industry, to ensure crops of food grow well water is often added to soil in the form of irrigation.
  
• Plant matter found at the bottom of areas with water such as swamps can eventually turn into coal due to a process called metamorphosis (changing form).
  
  
• There are over 200,000 identified plant species and the list is growing all the time.
  
• Poison ivy produces a skin irritant called urushiol. Touching poison ivy will cause an allergic reaction, usually in the form of an itchy rash on the skin.
  
• Fertilizers are chemicals added to plants to help them grow. Important elements in fertilizers include nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Manure (animal waste) is also used as a fertilizer.