Living predominantly in plant habitats.

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.

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.

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.

Living on brambles or thorny shrubs or vines, including blackberries and raspberries.

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.