Plant parts

Acorns are the nut of the oak tree. They start green and gradually go brown as they ripen. Squirrels are very fond of acorns.

Bark is the outer layer of a tree or large plant. Many types of trees usually shed their bark once a year and grow fresh bark underneath the old. Insects like beetles and spiders like to live under loose bark.

Branches are parts of a tree that are connected to the main trunk of a tree. Some trees have a very short trunk and lots of thick branches. Most branches are diagonal and point upwards, except in weeping trees where they may droop downwards. A very small branch is called a twig.

A bud is a point on a plant where something new is growing. Usually a bud is a place a new leaf is growing, but a flower that is just starting can also be described as a bud or flowerbud. Deciduous plants start to bud as spring approaches.

A bulb is a part of a plant that is usually below the ground, or partly below the ground. Bulbs are usually quite spherical but pointed at the top like a teardrop. Bulbs grow roots from the bottom and leaves from the top.

Some types of plants that grow from bulbs are onions, lilies and tulips.

Anything that has a similar shape to a bulb may also be called a bulb, such as the bulb at the bottom of an old fashioned thermometer.

Flowers are the part of a plant that is used to make seeds, which grow into baby plants. Flowers are usually very pretty. The reason for this is the plant needs insects to come to the flowers and fertilize them so seeds can develop. Insects are attracted to the flowers by their colour and the sweet nectar that the plant grows inside the flower as a reward for the insects.

A frond is a special type of leaf that is usually found on ferns. Palm trees also have fronds. The fronds on ferns start curled up, and uncurl as they grow.

A husk is the outer layer of a seed, or the covering on a cob of corn or maize.

A husk is also used to describe the outer shell that an insect loses when it moults.

The husks in the photo are coconut husks.

Leaves grow all over most plants. Leaves are always some shade of green, although they often have yellow or red patterns on them. Plants use sunlight falling on the green in their leaves, called chlorophyll, to convert air and water into food.

Nectar is the sweet, sticky stuff found in the centre of flowers. It is there to attract insects like bees to the flowers so the bees will pollinate the flowers. Bees use the nectar to make honey, most other birds and insects just eat the nectar as they find it.