Grade 5 · Unit 2: The life cycle of flowering plants

Plant life cycles

Seed to plant to flower to seed – round and round.

Watch the whole life cycle in the Seed to Fruit lab.

The cycle

Flowering plants have a life cycle. A seed germinates, grows into a mature plant, flowers, is pollinated and makes new seeds. The seeds are dispersed, and the cycle starts again.

Some plants can also make new plants without seeds: potatoes grow from pieces of potato, and bananas grow from shoots at the base.

Rice: one year

Rice is an annual plant. It completes its life cycle in less than a year. Farmers sow seeds, plant out seedlings, and harvest the grains a few months later. The grains are seeds – some are eaten and some are saved to plant again.

Bangladesh grows three main rice crops a year: aus, aman and boro, each suited to a different season.

Mango: many years

A mango tree is a perennial plant. It lives for many years. It takes several years to grow big enough to flower. Then it flowers and fruits every year, for decades.

Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj are famous for their mango orchards. Some mango trees there are more than 100 years old.

Comparing life cycles

All flowering plants go through the same stages. But the time each stage takes is very different.

Mustard completes its life cycle in about three months, while a banyan tree can live for hundreds of years.

What I learnt