Plant functions, including photosynthesis, transport, growth, and reproduction. Plant care practices belong in Gardening.
Test your knowledge with these top questions!
What makes a young sunflower stem bend as the plant tracks the Sun?
The stem's east side grows faster during the day, while faster growth on the west side helps turn the plant back overnight.
What helps a young sunflower turn back east overnight, even without sunlight?
The daily rhythm can continue for days under fixed overhead light, showing that the plant does more than react to moving sunlight.
Heliotropism describes a plant changing its position in response to what?
Some plants turn leaves away from strong midday sunlight, reducing heat and water loss.
Which sunflowers usually turn to follow the Sun across the sky?
Sunflowers stop their daily tracking as their stems finish growing and their flower heads mature.
Which tree has fan-shaped leaves that turn golden yellow in autumn?
A hard frost can make a ginkgo shed much of its golden foliage in a single day.
What new structures anchor a stem cutting and absorb water from the soil?
Leafy cuttings can lose water before roots form, so gardeners often keep the air around them humid.
As a banana ripens, which stored carbohydrate breaks down into sugars?
Much of a green banana's starch resists digestion, but ripening converts it into easier-to-digest sugars.
Which cell-wall substance that helps jams set breaks down as peaches ripen?
Pectin helps hold neighboring fruit cells together, so breaking it down loosens the flesh.
Autumn leaves reveal yellow and orange pigments after which color fades?
Yellow and orange pigments are present in many leaves all summer, but green chlorophyll masks their colors.
Which red pigment builds up as a typical red tomato ripens?
Tomatoes can form lycopene after picking, which is why mature green tomatoes can still turn red indoors.