Page 16 - (DK) Flowers
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The life of a flower                                                                 Long-lived plants

                                                                                            These garden cranesbills are perennials.
                                                                                            They have big leaves and spreading
       Have you ever noticed how wild poppies can                                           roots. The leaves die in the fall, but
                                                                                            the roots stay alive through the winter.
       suddenly spring up on a patch of bare ground?                                        In the spring, new leaves grow and
       This happens because most poppies are “annual”                                       cranesbills flower once again.
       plants. They grow very quickly, and
       they flower and die all within the                                                   The poppy           Perennial plants grow
       space of a year. Not all plants                                                      petals start        where the ground is

       are like this. Many more                                                             to wither and       not disturbed, from
                                                                                            fall off.
       live for a number of                                                                                     woodlands to deserts.
       years. Plants like this                                                                                                  A single cranesbill

       are called “perennials”                                                                                                  flower makes just
       (per-en-ee-als).                                                                                                         five seeds.





                             The poppy is                                                                                                  Annual plants like this
                             fully open.                                                                                                   poppy grow best where
                                                                                                                                           the soil has been dug,
                                                                                                                                           plowed, or moved around.
               Poppy flower
               folded up
                                    Flower
               inside bud
                                    bud
                                                                                                                                           Seeds are shaken out by
                                                                                                                                           the wind. The cycle begins
               Rushing into flower                                                                                                         again the next year, when
               The poppy is an annual                                                                                                      the seeds germinate.
               plant. It puts all its energy                                                                                Chamber
               into flowering and making                                                           Seeds are                containing
               lots of seeds as quickly as                                                         made in this             seeds
               it can. A single poppy flower                                                       chamber.
               can make hundreds of seeds.
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