Plants

Plants (Plantae) are one of the major kingdoms of life. They consist mainly of immobile organisms that produce their own food through a process called photosynthesis (the use of sunlight to combine water and carbon dioxide). Plant cells have a distinctive structure made of cell walls and contain a green pigment called chlorophyll.

Plants form the base of food chains on land. They produce oxygen and provide shelter and food for animals. Humans obtain from plants clothing and medicine, grains, remedies, textiles (such as cotton) and oil.

Parts of the plant body

Most higher plants (plants with roots) have roots, stems, leaves and—in flowering plants—flowers and fruits. Roots absorb water and minerals from soil and anchor the plant. Stems transport water and nutrients through tubes (xylem and phloem). Leaves are the primary site where photosynthesis occurs.

Classification

Plants are divided into major groups: bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) which lack internal transport tubes, ferns, gymnosperms (such as conifers) and angiosperms (flowering plants). The most numerous group existing today is angiosperms.

Reproduction

Plants reproduce in two ways: sexual reproduction (in which pollen from flowers is transferred by wind, insects or birds, then seeds develop) and asexual reproduction (such as runners, root fragments and bulbs). Seeds can remain dormant until conditions are suitable for germination.

Plants of Somalia

The Somali region is mostly arid and semi-arid, so plants have water-conserving features such as small leaves and deep roots. Notable plants include acacia trees and myrrh, which produce commercially valuable resin, and other drought-resistant trees (acacias and related species).