Plants and Pollinators Why do plants and pollinators need each other? Name: 1
Before you start What do you know about pollinators and plants? Why do plants make seeds? Why do plants have pollen? What is a pollinator? Draw and label a flower How many types of bees are there in New Mexico? What are two things you can do to help pollinators in your yard? 1. 2. 2
Plants Introduction to Plants Plants are all around us. Some plants are small. Some plants are large. We use plants in many ways. Plants make the oxygen we breathe. Plants also make the food that people eat. Plants are important to people and to animals. What are three foods that plants make? Where do plants come from? Plants grow and change over time. Many plants start as small seeds. They then grow larger. The large tree in the picture above is called a sequoia. They can grow to be almost 300 feet tall. If a second grader is about three feet tall, the sequoia is as tall as second graders. The seed of the sequoia is only this big. Even tiny seeds can grow large plants. Sometimes large seeds grow small plants. What do seeds and plants need to grow? Seeds and plants need help to grow from the world around them. Seeds will not grow unless they have the right conditions. Conditions include sunlight, water, and soil. Different plants and seeds need different amounts of sunlight and water. For example, need a lot of water. do not need very much water to grow. Extension: How could you test what conditions different seeds need to grow? 3
What is in a seed? How can you learn what is in a seed? To learn what is in a seed I will This is what I see on the outside of a seed. The seed is inches long and cm long. 4
This is what I see inside a seed. Seed Anatomy These are drawings of the parts of the seed I dissected. Seed Coat Cotyledon Embryo Unidentified 5
Plant Germination and Lifecycle Draw each stage of plant development A seed is planted and watered. The pollinated flower develops new seeds. The seeds ripen. The seed grows its first root. The radicle becomes the root. The plant grows flowers. The flowers are pollinated. The root grows. The epicotyl pushes above the ground. The first leaves grow. 6
Relationships between Organisms Living things, or organisms, often need each other to survive. Sometimes plants or animals help each other. Sometimes they hurt each other. These are some examples of different relationships that organisms have. Mutualism In your In the wild classroom Human-Human Flower-Bee Predator-Prey In your In the wild classroom Human-Chicken Coyote-Rabbit Yum! This chicken sandwich is good! A coyote eats a rabbit. Parasitism In your In the wild classroom Human-Human Juniper- Mistletoe Competition In your In the wild classroom Human-Human Elk-Elk Commensalism In your In the wild classroom Human-Human Tree-Bird This bird lives in an old knot in a tree. The bird gets a home and the tree is not hurt. 7
Learning at the Botanical Garden Specialized Flowers and Pollinators Help us! We need scientists to do research on our pollinators and flowers. There are many different shapes of flowers in the Botanical Garden. We want to learn which pollinators visit which flowers. You will then enter the data you collect on our website. This will help us learn about what pollinators prefer each variety of flower. I studied the flower of the. (Name of Plant) The time is: The weather is: Use tally marks to keep track of how many pollinators visit your flower. Bee Butterfly Moth Ant Fly Hummingbird Other Total: Total: Total: Total: Total: Total: Total: Which pollinator visited your flower the most? Why do you think that happened? Look at the shape of the insect and the shape of the flower. What else should we study about these flowers and pollinators? 8
Learning at the Botanical Garden How Seeds Travel Draw and label your How do you think each What tests did you do to three seeds seed travels? prove that is true? 1. 1. 1. 2. 2. 2. 3. 3. 3. 9
Learning at the Botanical Garden Bees Did you know There are over 1,100 different varieties of bees in New Mexico. Many native bees live alone, not in hives. Honeybees are from Europe. Some bees live in wood and dead trees. Other bees live in holes in the ground. Draw your bee habitat. 10
Flower Anatomy Word Bank: Petals Surround seed making organs, often work as an advertisement for pollinators Sepals Leaf-like structures below petals Nectary Where nectar is made and stored Stigma Sticky organ that receives pollen Style Tube that connects stigma and ovary Stamen Anther and filament Anther Pollen covered part of stamen Filament Holds up the anther Ovary Where ovum and pollen meet to make a seed Stalk Attaches flower to plant 11
Take what you learned and Dissect a Flower This is what the flower looks like on the outside. When the flower is cut in half it looks like this. These are all of the parts of the flower, after I took it apart. Each part is labeled with its name. 12
Take what you learned and Invent a Pollinator and Flower Now you know what a pollinator does and the parts of a flower. Can you design a specialist pollinator and flower, which evolved together. The name of my pollinator is The name of my flower is The way the flower helps the pollinator is The way the pollinator helps the flower is You should also know 13
This is a picture of my flower with all its parts labeled. Word Bank Pistil Pollen Stamen Sepal Petal Ovary Stalk This is a picture of my pollinator. This is a picture of the pollinator pollinating the flower 14
What do you know about pollinators and plants now? Why do plants make seeds? Why do plants have pollen? What is a pollinator? Draw and label a flower How many types of bees are there in New Mexico? What are two things you can do to help pollinators in your yard? 1. 2. 15
Glossary Commensalism Competition Conditions Epicotyl Mutualism Organisms 16
Ovary Oxygen Parasitism Petal Pistil Pollen Pollinate 17
Pollinator Predator Prey Radicle Sepal Sequoia 18
Stalk Stamen 19