1. Living organisms; such as, shrubs, trees, herbs, grass, ferns, and mosses: Plants normally grow and remain in the same places where they absorb water and inorganic substances through their roots and synthesize nutrients in their leaves by photosynthesis (light as an energy source) by using the green pigment chlorophyll.

Plants are also different from animals by generally responding to external stimuli very slowly and the responses often take a matter of days and only occur when the stimuli are continued for long periods of time.

Plants are necessary for the continuation of life on Earth and they are an essential part of the food chain, supplying energy and oxygen for the higher, more complex forms of life.

Not all of the plants produce their nutrition by photosynthesis because some are parasites on other plants, and a few of them are carnivorous in that they specialize in capturing and digesting insects.

2. Vegetation that covers the earth and determines the appearances of the landscapes: There are divisions that are caused by the tendency of certain communities of plants to be unified in groups.

Of all of the factors that affect land plants, the most important is water, the abundance and availability of which is again influenced by the structure of the soil.

Plants store food in the form of starch; and their cell walls are made mostly of cellulose.

Although plants can't run away, some of them can defend themselves by secreting bitter substances which give off an unpleasant taste to their leaves and fruit; others defend themselves with acids and poisons, with nauseating milky fluids, that have stinging hairs, prickles, thorns, and crystal needles.

Scientists have estimated that there are 400,000 species of plants, with Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru having more plant species than any other country in the world.

3. A place where industrial or manufacturing processes take place: Machinery is used in plants that make cars and other vehicles. 4. Something that is put in a place to trick or to confuse people in order to incriminate or to compromise them: Karl and Mona insisted that the bag of illegal drugs which was found under their seats on the bus was a plant.
5. A person who has been placed in a group as a spy or an informer by another organization: Helena's cousin became a plant in an opposing political organization and, as such, she was able to record a video of a statement made by the candidate which was used against him in a political debate.
6. Etymology: from Old English plante, "young tree or shrub, herb newly planted"; from Latin planta, "sprout, shoot, cutting"; perhaps originally from plantare, "to drive in with the feet, to push into the ground with the feet"; from planta, "sole of the foot".

1. To put seeds, bulbs, etc. in the earth so they can develop into fully developed herbage: Every spring, the family plants the small hard elements produced by the plant itself which can then grow into a new plant for edible food.
2. To place seeds or undeveloped foliage in the soil to produce crops: Farmers around the world are planting various kinds of food products so the rest of the world can be nourished and live better.
3. To establish an idea, etc. in a person's mind: The politician was planting seeds of doubt about his political opposition during a speech that was being broadcast on the radio.
4. To hide an explosive that is set to go off later: Fortunately, the police were able to arrest the terrorist before he could set off the bomb that he had planted in a car that was parked in the city.
5. To secretly place or conceal something among people's possessions in order to suggest that they are guilty of a crime: Greg planted some stolen goods in Shanna's unlocked car while she was returning a grocery cart so he could get some money as a bribe from her to keep him from telling the police.
6. To send someone to join a group or an organization to act as a spy or an informer: Mary found out that James, one of her coworkers, was an agent who had been planted in her administrator's office staff by a rival company.

1. Flora that grows partly or wholly in water whether rooted in the mud, as a lotus, or floating without anchorage; such as, the water hyacinth: Helen's aunt has a hobby of growing aquatic plants in a large aquarium.
2. Certain kinds of greenery that have adapted to living in or on water environments: The aquatic plants along the side of the river appeared to be water hyacinths.

Machinery that converts raw energy into useful applications; such as, light, power for machinery, etc.: The electric power plant is a hydrosteam, diesel, or nuclear generating electrical station for uses of all kinds of equipment or transportation services.

This "plant" reference is apparently linked to the action of pressing on a shovel, or some other tool, with the "sole of the foot" in order to work the soil for planting.

A system of devices for the conversion of fossil energy to mechanical work or electric energy.

The main systems are the Steam (Rankine) Cycle and the Gas Turbine (Brayton Cycle).

1. Steam (Rankine) Cycle is an ideal thermodynamic cycle that consists of four processes:
   • Heat transfer to the system at constant pressure.
   • An expansion at constant entropy.
   • A constant-pressure heat transfer from the system.
   • A compression at constant entropy; used as a standard of efficiency.
2. Gas Turbine (Brayton) Cycle, an ideal gas cycle used as a standard for the actual performance of a simple gas turbine, consisting of four processes:
   • A reversible adiabatic (no heat transfer) compression at constant entropy.
   • A heat transfer at constant pressure up to the maximum temperature.
   • An adiabatic expansion at constant entropy back to the original pressure.
   • A heat transfer at constant pressure back to the original volume and entropy.
3. Entropy in thermodynamics is a measure of the disorder or randomness of a closed system; more entropy means less energy is available for doing work.

The total entropy of an isolated system cannot decrease when the system undergoes a change; it can remain constant for reversible processes, and will increase for irreversible ones.

A major division of plant science which is concerned with all aspects of the spatial distribution of vegetation: Geographical botany, plant geography, and phytogeography all involve the study of the spatial distributions of plant life and of the environmental relationships which may influence these distributions.

Plant geography has emphasized the mapping of such regions and the interpretation of the terms of environmental (ecological) influences.

The areas of phytogeography and zoogeography do not necessarily exist together in the same place, because there are barriers and factors that affect their growth and arrangements which are often different for plants and for animals.

An industrial heat-producing manufacturer in which the prime mover is a steam turbine: Geothermal plants are driven either by vapor produced from hot water or by natural condensation that derives its energy from the hotness found in rock formations of the planet.

Like other related "plant" references, this entry is apparently linked to the action of pressing on a shovel, or some other apparatus, with the "sole of the foot" in order to work the soil for the development of plants.

A complex carbohydrate that forms the tough carbon latticework of cell walls in most vegetation and is important in the manufacture of numerous products; such as, paper, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and even explosives: Plant cellulose is indigestible to animals and serves as the plants' armor against predatory pests.

Research in biofuels is striving to refine plant cellulose in the form of corn husks instead of corn kernels, bagasse (dry dusty pulp that remains after juice is extracted from sugar cane) instead of cane sugar, and agricultural and industrial wastes of all kinds; such as, wood chips, the remains of paper mills, and fallen tree leaves.

Many creatures, including termites and cattle, use gut microbes to break down plant cellulose in their digestive systems where microbes do it by secreting enzymes called cellulases.

Any part of textiles that is produced by or derived from flora: Examples of plant fibers include cotton, flax, and hemp.

Any of various small, soft-bodied insects of the family Aphididae which have mouth parts especially adapted for piercing and feeding by pulling the sap from vegetation: Aphids are plant lice which suck the sap from the stems and leaves of various plants and they develop wings and migrate to other places; especially, when there are too many of them in the area.

As small as they are, plant lice are big pests of many fruit trees and vegetable crops.

A particular area in botanical science that is concerned with the diseases of verdure: Plant pathology involves research about microbes and the environmental factors that can cause diseases in plants, the factors and processes involved in the development of diseases, and the methods of preventing and controlling plant diseases.

That branch of botanical sciences that strives to understand how the vegetable life lives and functions: The primary objective of plant physiology is to explain the life processes of plants with a limited number of comprehensive principles that exist in chemistry, physics, and mathematics.

In agreement with the major characteristics of organisms plant physiology is usually divided into:

• The nutrition and metabolism of plants that deals with the uptake, transformations, and release of materials, and also their movements within and between the cells and organs of the plant.
• The environment of plants which strives to understand the various responses of plants to the environment.
• The part of the environment that deals with the effects of and adaptations to adverse conditions is called stress physiology.

Vegetable matter that can cause severe allergic reactions if their leaves brush against a person's skin or cause a terrible illness if eaten: There are several poisonous plants that cause very unpleasant skin diseases; such as, poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac.

Poisonous plants grow as vines or bushes, and the leaves have three leaflets (poison ivy, poison oak) or a row of paired leaflets (poison sumac).

A poisonous plant can cause itching, burning, and blistering at the places of the skin where contact has occurred and in some people these skin reactions can be extremely severe and very uncomfortable.

The poisonous plants that are very dangerous to eat include foxglove, aconite, hemlock, laburnum seeds, and many types of berries, including the berries of deadly nightshade and holly.

The seriousness of the symptoms of poisonous plants are different depending on the plant and may include abdominal pain, vomiting, excitement, breathing difficulties, delirium, and even coma.

Children should be taught not to sample any berries of potentially poisonous plants or any kind of wild plants.

More about poisonous plants

There are hundreds of different poisonous plants including many household plants and flowers; a few of which are described here.

• Poison ivy occurs throughout the United States growing as a bush or a vine where each leaf consists of three shiny leaflets. When anyone comes in contact with these plants, an oily substance from the surface of the plant causes irritation on the skin that can be very severe and spread even more when the skin is scratched.
• Nightshade, also called belladonna, is about three feet high, with shiny black berries. Eating even a small part of a seed can result in symptoms; such as, a rash, blurred vision, difficulty in swallowing, confusion, and a coma.
• The foxglove, which has purplish pink flowers, is a source of the heart drug digitalis; however, eating the plant irritates the mouth and causes abdominal pain, diarrhea, and a disturbance of the heart beat.

A young vegetative organism that starts with germination and then into a sprout: A seedling plant is one that has emerged from its protective seed coat and has developed into a tiny plant at the end of a given period, generally at the end of the first growing season.

A generating facility that uses heat to produce electrical power: Thermal power plants produce electric energy from steam that has been released by water when raised to a high temperature which then spins a steam turbine that drives an electrical generator.

As with other related "plant" references, this entry is believed to be linked to the action of pressing on a shovel, or some other planting device, with the "sole of the foot" in order to work the soil for planting.

Any kind of flora containing specialized conducting tissues (xylem, water-conducting tissues; and phloem, tissue that conducts water and nutrients through the body) and typically differentiated (biological specialization) into roots, stems, and leaves: Vascular plants use a process in which cells or tissues undergo changes toward more specialized forms or functions of tissues: especially, during embryonic development.

A division of living things consisting of botanical growth; especially, in contrast with the animal and mineral kingdoms: The botanist, Mr. Lange, explained how the plant kingdoms differ from zoology and the natural use of soil substances.

A field of study which maps the growing regions of seedling organisms and analyzes them in terms of ecology, environmental, or ecological conditions: Mr. Younge, the professor of geography, was telling Kevin and the rest of his students about vegetational plant geography and how it differs in various areas of the world.

The first underground repository in the United States licensed to permanently dispose of transuranic radioactive waste left from the research and production of nuclear weapons; located in the Chihuahuan Desert of southeastern New Mexico, USA: As an engineering student, Dallas wanted to visit the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant and discovered that he needed special governmental permission to do so.