The Life Cycle of a Flowering Plant

By Lori Friesen

First, a plant starts as a seed in soil. With the help of water, the seed will grow roots and a stem will come out of the seed.

The stem then receives energy from the roots to push up through the soil towards the sunlight.

Next, leaves grow from the stem. They soak up sunlight and carbon dioxide from the air. This produces food for the plant. This is called photosynthesis. Then, flowers start to grow. Bees help move pollen from the stamen to the stigma, this produces new seeds. This is called pollination.

Finally, these new seeds need to get out into the world. Some plants use wind, other seeds travel by water and some seeds are eaten by birds and dispersed back through the birds’ droppings onto the ground.

Some seeds even burst out from the flower itself! All these seeds land in new places where they can grow. Now the life cycle can begin again.