290 ] The Fascination of Flowers 



plants cannot move. Often this answer will not do for an older 

 child. As he thinks it over, he may realize that plants do move in 

 certain ways. 



For example: They move upward and outward as part of the 

 growing process. Some develop runners that creep over the ground. 

 Violets and others shoot their seeds; the dandelion is one of 

 many plants that parachute seeds to new growing grounds, while 

 portions of the stems of Florida moss break off and are blown 

 about by the wind until they alight and start to grow. The water 

 lily, like numerous other species, closes its petals each night and 

 opens them again in the morning. (What probably impresses chil- 

 dren even more is that the water lily floats.) 



So we see there is plenty of motion on the part of plants. The 

 older child will conclude that many characteristics observed in 

 animals are also present in plants. Both plants and animals move; 

 both are made up of living cells, are born, breathe, feed, grow, 

 and reproduce themselves. 



How Plants Feed Themselves: There is one vital difference be- 

 tween plants and animals, however, and that is in the way they 

 feed themselves. A plant is in effect a factory which produces its 

 own food by turning nonliving matter into living matter. This 

 process, one of nature's wonders, is made possible by the green 

 substance known as chlorophyll. 



We often call chlorophyll "leaf-green," as it is found chiefly 

 in leaves. When this leaf-green is worked on by the action of light 

 from the sun, chemical changes occur which transform lifeless 



(inorganic) matter into life-giving and life-sustaining matter. 



(Animals do not have chlorophyll, but we now find it used in all 

 kinds of products, from toothpaste to dog food, mainly for the 

 purpose of killing odors.) 



The Leaf Nature's Great Chemical Laboratory 



If you examine leaves, you will notice that as a rule they are 

 a darker green on the upper side than on the underside. The 

 chlorophyll-bearing cells on the top surface are packed more 

 closely to catch as much sunlight as possible. (As we have seen. 



