From Seed to Flower: A Plant's Life Cycle
Lumi kneels in a sunny garden, pressing a sunflower seed into dark soil with one hand while pointing with the other at a tall sunflower nearby that has already bloomed and is heavy with new seeds ready to drop.
- Identify the four stages of a flowering plant's life cycle: seed, seedling, adult plant, and seed producer.
- Explain what a seed needs to sprout: water and warmth.
- Describe how flowers help a plant make new seeds.
- Predict what happens to seeds after the flower dies.
- Compare the beginning and end of the plant life cycle to explain why it is called a cycle.
Key terms
- Seed
- A tiny package that holds a baby plant.
- Germination
- When a seed wakes up and starts growing.
- Seedling
- A baby plant with its first leaves.
- Pollen
- Tiny grains that help flowers make seeds.
A Seed Wakes Up
Every plant journey starts with a tiny seed. Inside the seed is a baby plant and a little food package. When the seed gets water and warmth, it wakes up and starts to grow. This waking up is called germination. A surprise fact is that a seed does not need sunlight to germinate. A root pushes down to drink water and a green shoot pushes up. Now we have a little seedling!
Growing Up Strong
The seedling keeps growing day by day. It drinks water through its roots deep in the soil. It soaks up sunlight with its leaves to make its own food. Making food with sunlight is called photosynthesis. The plant is like a little food factory powered by the sun. Slowly, the small seedling grows taller and stronger until it becomes a full-grown adult plant ready for the next big step.
Making New Seeds
An adult plant grows flowers, and flowers have a special job. They help the plant make new seeds. Tiny grains called pollen travel from flower to flower, often carried by busy bees or the wind. When pollen reaches the right spot, seeds begin to form inside the flower. When the seeds are ready, they scatter and land in new places. Each new seed can start the whole journey over again.
Worked examples
Put the plant life cycle in order.
- Start with a seed in the soil.
- The seed germinates into a small seedling.
- The seedling grows into an adult plant, which makes new seeds.
Answer: Seed, then seedling, then adult plant, then seed producer.
What does a seed need to germinate?
- A seed wakes up when conditions are right.
- It needs water to start the changes inside.
- It also needs warmth, but it does not need sunlight yet.
Answer: A seed needs water and warmth to germinate.
Activity
Drag each picture card to put the plant life cycle in the correct order from beginning to end.
Practice
Name the four stages of a flowering plant's life cycle.
What is the special job that flowers do for a plant?
Common mistakes to avoid
- A seed needs sunlight to sprout.A seed only needs water and warmth to start germinating.
- Flowers are just for decoration.Flowers are the seed-making parts, so they help make new plants.
Check your understanding
What does a seed need to start germinating (sprouting)?
Why is the plant's journey called a life cycle and not just a life line?
A student says flowers are just for decoration and have no real job for the plant. What is wrong with that idea?
Recap
A plant's life cycle goes from seed, to seedling, to adult plant, to seed producer, then back to seed again. Seeds need water and warmth to sprout, and flowers help the plant make new seeds.
Reflect
What would you like to grow from a seed someday?