How Plants
Defend
Themselves
By Sheri Skelton
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Caption: The defensive hairs of the stinging nettle
If you were a plant, how would you protect yourself?
Plants can't run away from their enemies. Because they can't
escape, plants have developed special ways to protect
themselves.
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The leaves and stems of stinging nettles are covered with
tiny hairs. Some of the hairs are similar to tiny syringes.
Touching the tips of the hairs causes them to break off. The
hairs then become like needles that inject chemicals. The
chemicals can cause a person's skin to become inflamed and
irritated. If you're out hiking in the woods, you will want to
know to avoid coming in contact with stinging nettles.
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Some plants have sharp spines, prickles, or thorns on
them. Thistles have prickles to discourage herbivores from
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eating their flowers. Herbivores are animals that eat plants.
Cactus plants have spines to keep predators away. Desert
animals might be tempted to bite into a cactus plant to find
water. The honey locust tree has thorns on its branches to
protect itself from grazing herbivores.
Some plants contain poison. These plants could make
anyone eating them very sick. Eating too much of these
plants could be fatal. The leaves of bleeding hearts and the
berries of mistletoe contain poison. Some plants protect
themselves by having a very bad taste. The buttercup
contains a poisonous substance. However, since the plant
tastes so bad, few animals attempt to eat it. Those who do
taste the buttercup could end up with blisters in their mouths.
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Next time you're walking outside, take a look at the
plants around you. It's a good idea to know what kind of
plants are there. That way you'll know which plants are safe
and which plants you might need to be careful around.
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1. The leaves and stems of stinging nettles are
covered with ______.
2. Why would a desert animal be tempted to bite
into a cactus plant?
Tiny bumps
A sticky substance
Little thorns
Tiny hairs
Because the plant tastes good
Because the plant contains a substance
that provides protection from the sun
A desert animal would not be tempted to
bite into a cactus plant due to the sharp spines
on the cactus.
Because the plant contains water
3. What kind of defense do bleeding hearts and
mistletoe have?
Thorns on their branches
Sticky sap that tastes bad
Tiny hairs that cause skin irritation
Poison
4. What might happen to an animal that bites into a
buttercup?
The animal might choke on the fuzzy
hairs of the plant.
The animal's throat might swell up.
The animal might end up with blisters in
its mouth.
The animal's mouth might bleed due to
the thorns on the plant.
5. Animals that eat plants are called ______.
Vegetarians
Carnivores
Omnivores
Herbivores