Fun Botany Facts

Looking for some fun botany facts to share with your junior scientist at home? Introduce your child to these botany facts, then see if you can't inspire your child to do some botany research of his own. These facts about plant botany are intended to spur conversation about how plants grow, how plant life intersects with human existence and how your child might enjoy exploring the field of botany.

Fun Botany Facts

• Plants Love Black Gold: Did you know compost is like black gold for plants? Compost is a natural fertilizer made up of decomposed plant matter. It provides plants with all the nutrients they need to thrive and flourish. Want to make compost for your flowerbeds or garden at home? Make a simple compost bin by adding a little sand, dirt, worms and plenty of organic matter and let it decompose for a few months. You can use table scraps such as vegetable peelings for the organic matter. Your garden will love you for it.
• Your Plants Are Listening: Have you ever talked to your plants? Some studies suggest plants really do respond to music and people talking to them. Of course, talking to them won't compensate for neglect, overwatering or lack of fertilizer, so you'll want to make sure you're providing basic plant care in addition to the vocal attention. Why not try an experiment? Buy two African violets and place them in two different rooms with equal lighting. Talk to one every day, but ignore the other plant. Do you see a difference in plant health? 
• Fungi Are Plants Too: Those funny-looking mushrooms growing under your bushes are actually fungi, an unusual type of plant. Explore the differences between traditional plants and fungi. Some fungi, such as giant puffballs, contain trillions of spores. Some mushrooms will disperse into powdery spores when poked with a stick; come back a few days later and you may find new mushrooms growing where the spores landed. How is this different from planting a tulip plant? What makes fungus grow? What makes a green bean plant grow? Can you grow mushrooms in your back yard?