Life Cycles of Non-flowering Plants

This week in Blue Class, we have been learning about the unusual life cycles of non-flowering plants. We investigated the school grounds looking for the best habitat to find moss growing and discovered it thrives in damp, shady places. We learnt that moss is a non-vascular plant, so doesn't take in water through roots, but absorbs it from the environment a bit like a sponge.

We also studied conifers and found that they produce male and female cones. The male cones produce pollen which fertilises the egg cells in the female cones. We dissected some pinecones to search for the seeds that form beneath the scales.

Looking under the microscope we were able to see the moss close up. We also used a camera with a macro lens to photograph some of the plants and parts of plants that we collected. You can see some of the results above. All our photos can be viewed in the slideshow below.

Last week we studied flowering plants, and planted sunflower seeds, and took cuttings of geraniums, lavender and dandelions. We checked on the progress of these this week. The sunflowers have just begun to germinate and the dandelions, which we cut right down to the root, already have several new leaves. The lavender and geraniums may take a bit longer to 'take' as they have to grow new roots. We will post updates of our findings over the next few weeks.