Introduction to plants

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Through photosynthesis plants harvest the energy of the sun, and in so doing absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, which enables many other organisms to survive. They also form the base of food chains in nearly all ecosystems. So, for example, terrestrial plants are fed upon by insects, which are eaten by small birds, which in turn are preyed on by larger birds and mammals. This website covers a small selection of the wide range of plants that occur locally, divided into four groups: trees.html">trees, flowering plants (the largest group), ferns.html">ferns and sedges and grasses.


© Owen Keen