1. They help plants and flowers grow.
   They keep other insects away from plants.
2. They pollinate flowers and plants and help them reproduce.
   They rub off nutrients from one plant onto another.

Honey bees really do serve one of the greatest purposes in all of the animal kingdom. Without them, plants and flowers would have a seriously difficult time reproducing. When a bee lands on a flower, pollen from that flower will stick to the hairs of the bee's body, and it'll then carry the pollen to another flower and then repeat that process over and over again.

1. Stigma
   Pistil
2. Ovary
   Stamen

Flowers have female and male reproductive parts just like so many other organisms. Its female, or seed-bearing, part is called the pistil, which is made up of an ovary, stigma and style. Sometimes, a flower can have exclusively female parts.

1. By counting the number of rings in its trunk
   By counting its leaves
2. By measuring its height
   By counting its branches

This may not be a foolproof way of calculating a tree's age, but it does at least get you very close. Typically, each ring you count equals one year of its life. Fun fact, the oldest tree in the world, "Methuselah" is said to be 4,800 years old-- imagine trying to count all of those rings!

1. So they're good for making potpourri
   To attract birds and mammals
2. To repel insects and birds
   To attract pollinators

Flowers use their lovely scents to attract bees and other pollinators so they can spread their seeds and reproduce! Color also plays a part in attracting pollinators; color and scent together signal to them that nectar will be available if they visit the flower.

1. A plant that will germinate, flower, and seed continuously through the year
   A plant that will lose all of its leaves and flowers by winter, but stay alive
2. A plant that takes a year to fully mature
   A plant that will germinate, flower, seed and then die all within one year

Think of an "annual sale" ... they come but once a year! Annual plants are those that will go through their entire biological life cycle within one year of planting it. Peas, watermelon and rice are a few examples of annual plants.

1. Chemosynthesis
   Photosynthesis
2. Fermentation
   Metabolism

This is likely a term you remember from school. Photosynthesis is the process by which plants take in carbon dioxide and emit oxygen back into the atmosphere. Through this process, plants also harness energy for themselves.

1. Roots
   Leaves
2. Spores
   Flowers

Rather than utilizing pollinators or simply dropping seeds on the ground, plants that do not have seeds will release spores into the wind, where they will be carried and land in a hopefully suitable environment to grow. Ferns and moss are examples of seedless plants.

1. Thalloid
   Frullania
2. Liverwort
   Porella

The term "liverwort" originated from the idea that early herbalists who studied these plants thought that one of the plants in this group resembled a liver. Some of these plants were also actually used as medicine for liver ailments.

1. Tulip
   Dandelion
2. Crab grass
   Dracena

With how loose the seeds are on a dandelion, the wind very easily is able to dislodge them and take them all over. Think about how many dandelions you see just going for a walk, and even more, when you pick one up and blow on it, how many you have helped reproduce!

1. They aren't green.
   They grow on a vine.
2. They have seeds.
   They are sweet.

The debate over what is a fruit and what is a vegetable will surely never cease. However, one surefire way to tell that the piece of food you are biting into is a fruit is that it has seeds in it. The seeds indicate that the fruit developed from the ovary of a flowering plant, whereas vegetables grow from roots, leaves, and stems.

1. They protect the plant from insects.
   They absorb energy from the sun and turn it into food.
2. They make the plant look pretty.
   They shield the plant from the rain.

Leaves play an integral part in the photosynthesis process; they will absorb the sun's energy and then convert it into food for the plant, and as we learned up above, turn carbon dioxide into oxygen.

1. A plant that keeps its leaves and flowers year-round
   A plant that bears its fruit as roots rather than on a tree
2. A plant that loses its leaves each year but stays alive
   A plant that is in the form of a vine

Deciduous plants are those which stay alive year-round, but will lose their leaves. They will usually shed their leaves in the fall and grow them back when spring comes around. A few examples of deciduous plants include oak trees, maple trees and hickory trees.

1. To protect them from insects and any other animal that may eat them
   To help them preserve water in the desert heat
2. To keep people from trying to touch them
   Spines are actually seeds and will detach when it's time to reproduce.

Sure, the spines on a cactus likely do help keep humans and animals from messing with them, but they are more there to help cacti retain moisture, even in the hottest of heats. Spines are actually essentially a cacti's leaves, they're just adapted for their environment!

1. Hydrogen, nitrate, phosphorus
   Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium
2. Magnesium, potassium, and oxygen
   Calcium, nitrogen, and sulfur

When we talk about the nutrients a plant needs, we're talking about the nutrients found in the soil the plant is in. In this case, those nutrients are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Others that are very beneficial include calcium, magnesium and sulfur.

1. Pine
   Fern
2. Sunflower
   Daisy

Birds often will peck at pinecones, opening them up and allowing for the seeds inside to drop to the ground. Squirrels can do this as well. Once on the ground, the seeds either take root right there next to the mother tree, or they can easily get moved by the wind or even on the wings or fur or an animal.

1. Oak tree
   Hibiscus
2. Fern
   Cucumber

Ferns are considered non-flowering plants because they do not produce seeds. Instead, they produce spores, which are what they use to reproduce. Non-flowering plants are not typically as successful in reproduction as flowering plants are, but still, they're doing just fine!

1. Half organic material and half sand
   An equal mixture of sand, silt, clay and organic matter
2. An equal mixture of water, air, plant debris and silt
   Half soil organisms and half water

Anyone who has tried their hand at gardening knows how important a good mixture of nutrients and organic material are. If you are planting something, you will want to be sure you are purchasing a soil that has an even amount of sand, silt, clay and organic matter.

1. Vesicle
   Antler
2. Filament
   Stamen

Plants have male and female parts so they can reproduce. The male, or pollen-bearing part of a plant is called the stamen. That is made up of what are called the filament and the anther.

1. The soil's levels of harmful substances
   How well it will be able to grow
2. How edible the plant will be
   The soil's pH

Just as you can measure the pH of water, you can do the same with soil. pH levels range from 0 to 14, with 7 being neutral, below 7 being acidic and above 7 being alkaline. The ideal pH level for most plants is between 5.5 and 7, but most will still be able to adjust and thrive in soil with pH values outside that range.

1. Through its stem
   Through its flowers
2. Through its leaves
   Through its roots

If you have ever gardened or have indoor plants, you surely have seen the massive amount of roots a plant can grow. This is so they can reach further away from the plant to absorb as much water as possible. But be careful, you can always over-water a plant. There's only so much water it can take in at a time!

1. To feed animals and humans
   To reproduce
2. To protect its seed or seeds
   To ward off insects from eating the plant itself

While fruit is wonderfully delicious and is eaten by humans, animals and insects alike, it actually serves a purpose for the plant on which it grows. Whether it is a larger pit like you see in peaches or a number of seeds like in strawberries, fruits grow in order to protect seeds until it is time for them to be planted elsewhere and grow.

1. Black bean
   Wheat
2. Soybean
   Romaine lettuce

Soybeans are packed with protein, calcium, and iron, making for a great alternative to meat. You can prepare them a number of ways including tofu, edamame and tempeh. Even better, in soybean form you can throw them into a number of recipes, making for a solid meal every time!

1. A plant that only grows in the mountains
   A plant that only flowers in the wintertime
2. A plant that grows cones to hold its seeds
   A plant that only roots in Type C soil

When you think of coniferous plants, think of evergreen trees; there's another variety of coniferous plants that include yews and junipers that do actually produce berries, making them an exception to the "rule" of being coniferous. You can find these types of plants in mountainous areas often.

1. Juniper
   Ginkgo biloba
2. Mushrooms
   Algae

The ginkgo biloba, otherwise known as the maidenhair tree, has no living plant relatives, but its leaf imprints have been found in fossils from the Jurassic and Triassic periods dating back 135 to 210 million years ago. Since then, the plant's unique, fan-shaped leaves have changed very little, making a convincing argument for it being a living fossil.

1. Angiosperms
   Cactus
2. Liverworts
   Non-vascular plants

Angiosperms make up about 300,000 species of flowering plants, which is the largest and most diverse group of plants within the whole Plantae kingdom. To give an idea of how vast that is, this group makes up about 80 percent of all known plants now living on Earth.

1. Bluebonnet
   Dandelion
2. Rose
   All of these

When birds and mammals feed on plants, they ingest their seeds and thus carry them "with" them for long distances. Once the seeds pass through them, they root themselves in the ground and grow where they landed. Another way a plant's seeds are dispersed is simply by them dropping to the ground beneath the mother plant.

1. Dracena
   Papyrus
2. Nut grass
   Wheat

The papyrus plant produces a thick, paper-like material that was once used in ancient Egypt and other Mediterranean societies. In fact, the word "paper" is derived from the word "papyrus" which is derived from the Greek word "papyros".

1. Pitcher plant
   Bleeding tooth fungus
2. Poison ivy
   Doll's eyes

The pitcher plant has a number of varieties within this species of carnivorous plant, but ultimately they all function the same. This plant produces bulbs that have little pools of sweet nectar at the very bottom, which entice insects to drop in. Once they are in, the pitcher will close on the insect, trapping it, then consuming the insect and its nutrients.

1. It is easy to break apart and turn into different products.
   It is useful in insulating homes.
2. All parts of the plant are useful.
   It is used to make clothes.

The cotton plant has been important for quite some time; originally its fiber was used to produce clothing, but with the onset of technology all of the parts of the cotton plant are very useful, including its seeds, making it a valuable plant to have.

1. They absorb bad nutrients.
   They shield them from getting too much sun.
2. The shield them from insects.
   They help them grow.

While mushrooms are classified as a fungi, we do find them all over other plants, especially trees. This isn't necessarily a bad thing though; because mushrooms' mycelium (vegative part of the mushroom) can spread over great distances, they can actually capture water and nutrients from far away and bring it back to the tree, helping them grow.

1. Maple tree
   Cactus plant
2. Willow tree
   Coca plant

Plants truly are amazing, right? Even aspirin once came from the bark of a willow tree; the active ingredient in the medicine is called salicin. People today will actually still sometimes use salicin as an alternative to over-the-counter medicine, especially to treat chronic headaches or back pain.

1. Mountains
   The ocean
2. Coastal areas
   The desert

When we talk about specific areas in the world that have the most vegetation, hands down it is the ocean! From seaweed to kelp, 85% of the world's plant life lives in our oceans. Makes you really want to ensure the safety and longevity of our waters now, right?

1. Poinsettia
   Poison oak
2. Begonia
   Spurges

Sure, there is a whole plethora of plants you want to avoid in nature (and for a number of reasons), but one that you are more likely to run into when on a hike is poison oak. It's fairly easy to identify, though; the leaves do resemble those of an oak tree and usually grow in clusters of three. It also usually will bear yellow-green or white berries.

1. Vascular plants tend to have thicker stalks or stems.
   Non-vascular plants have less tissue inside them.
2. Vascular plants have vessels that carry water and food to all parts of the plant.
   Non-vascular plants are able to store more water.

When you hear the word vascular, the human vascular system probably comes to mind. Well, vascular plants have a similar setup; little networks of vessels throughout these types of plants carry water and food to all of the parts of the plant. They have two different types of vessels, too! The phloem is a system that transports the food, while the xylem transports the water.

1. A plant that takes two years to complete its biological life cycle
   A plant that won't survive if left outside
2. A plant that lives for more than two years
   A plant that can survive the winter

A plant that is categorized as perennial is one that can live for more than two years, some even beyond three years. Compare this to annual plants that live for one year, and biennials that live for two years, completing their whole biological life cycle in that amount of time.

1. It helps grow flowers faster.
   It helps keep the pot from fading too much on one side.
2. It helps keep the soil evenly moist or dry.
   It helps produce growth evenly around the plant.

It can be easy to forget to do this, but it is important to rotate your indoor plants so that each side of it gets a good amount of sunlight. This will help produce growth and ultimately keep your plant happy. You'll know it's time to rotate if you start to notice one side having a bit more growth than the other.

1. Mosses and liverworts
   Fungi and mushrooms
2. Algae
   Evergreen trees

Researchers say that the Earth's first land plants emerged around 470 million years ago, which was during the Ordovician period. These were non-vascular plants like mosses and liverworts. However, the first land fungi first appeared way before these plants did; researchers say those came about around 1,300 million years ago.

1. Lavender
   Honeysuckle
2. Water lily
   Moss

When a water lily releases its seeds, they have a coating on them that includes air pockets that allow them to float on the water. Eventually, that coating disintegrates and the seeds fall to the bottom of the pond, becoming lodged in the mud. From there, they sprout and grow a new lily.

1. 170,000
   230,000
2. 391,000
   520,000

Scientists say that there are around 391,000 species of vascular plants in the world. Of those plants, about 94% percent of them are flowering plants. On the other hand, there are around 20,000 species of non-vascular plants in existence.

1. Plants take in carbon dioxide and emit oxygen.
   Plants provide shade so that other plants and animals don't overheat.
2. Plants provide food for other plants.
   Plants release oxygen into the air and provide food for all animals.

The reality is without plants, most other life forms on the planet would not be able to survive. Not only do plants provide actual literal food for millions of species, but they also convert carbon dioxide into oxygen so we and the rest of the animal kingdom can actually breathe.