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Plants are vital for life – without photosynthesis taking place, we would all be very hungry. And we would miss out on all those sprouts with our Christmas dinner!
However, some plants don’t just survive off food they make themselves. Mistletoe is a hemiparasite. Alongside the food it gets from photosynthesising, it steals minerals and nutrients from its host. This explains why mistletoe can survive high in trees, not needing to reach the ground. It cannot actually survive unless feeding off another plant. In order to do this, it has a structure known as a haustorium. This helps it to glue itself to the host before penetrating its cells and stealing water and minerals. The mistletoe also produces bright white seeds, which birds are attracted to for food . As the seeds are sticky, they attach to their feathers once excreted. Consequently, the birds carry the seeds from tree to tree – thus spreading the mistletoe.
Consider that while you are kissing underneath it!
Another plant associated with Christmas is Holly. Ancient Romans used Holly during Saturnalia, a festival celebrating Saturn, the god of harvest. Some believe hanging a sprig of Holly in the house brings good luck and protection . But did you know that Holly is actually dioecious. This means , unlike most species, individual trees are either male of female!
GCSE scientists – you need to be able to explain what photosynthesis is. To help try out Part 1 of our new guide ” How to work with Photosynthesis”. It describes what photosynthesis is, includes the word and symbol equation and explains what the limiting factors of photosynthesis are. The guide includes information about how the plant uses the glucose made. Most importantly, there are example questions to try, alongside answers for you to check your understanding.
Come back and check our blog page for more resources to help you improve your understanding of different topics in various subjects. New Maths and Science guides will be coming soon.
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