Plants Around Us: REET EVS Notes

Types of plants

Based on size, stem thickness and height, plants are mainly divided into six categories. Trees are tall plants with a thick, sturdy stem, such as neem, mango, banyan and khejri — their branches emerge well above the ground. Shrubs are medium-height plants with several thin branches that emerge close to the ground, such as hibiscus and henna (mehndi).

Herbs are small plants with a soft, green stem, such as basil (tulsi), coriander and spinach. Grasses are very small plants with thin leaves and a hollow stem. Climbers are plants with a weak stem that climb upward with the help of support, such as grapevine and money plant, while creepers are plants with a weak stem that spread along the ground without support, such as pumpkin and watermelon. Altogether, the six categories covered here — trees, shrubs, herbs, grasses, climbers and creepers — can each be told apart mainly by how thick the stem is, how tall the plant grows, and whether the stem needs outside support to stay upright, which is a quick way to sort any unfamiliar plant into its correct group.

Parts of a plant and their functions

Facts about Rajasthan's flora and crops

State tree

Khejri (Prosopis cineraria) — stays green even in the desert's harsh conditions; also called the 'wish-fulfilling tree of the Thar'[Source 1]

State flower

Rohida (Tecomella undulata) — also called the 'desert teak' or 'Marwar teak'[Source 1]

Jute (patsan) cultivation

A fibre crop that needs a hot, humid climate and heavy rainfall, so it is sown and grown in the monsoon season; West Bengal is India's leading producer state[Source 2]

Basic needs of plants

Every plant needs four things to grow — sunlight (with which leaves make food), water (absorbed through the roots), air (leaves take in carbon dioxide from the air) and suitable soil (in which roots take hold and draw nutrients). If any one of these is missing, the plant starts to wilt or fails to grow properly — this can easily be shown to children by planting two pots, giving one sunlight and water while keeping the other in the dark without water, so they can see the difference for themselves after a few days. In other words, this simple pot experiment turns an abstract idea — that plants have specific needs — into something children can observe for themselves: within a matter of days, the plant given sunlight and water stays healthy, while the one left without water in the dark begins to wilt, giving children first-hand proof of why each of the four basic needs matters.

What plants give us

Plants give us food (grains, fruit, vegetables), wood (for furniture and building homes), medicine (such as tulsi and neem), shade and the oxygen we need to breathe. In Rajasthan, the pods of the khejri tree are called 'sangri', used to make the famous Rajasthani dish 'ker-sangri' — showing just how important a desert tree can be to local food and the local economy. The khejri's leaves (loong) also serve as fodder for livestock, making this tree a multi-purpose support for both farmers and herders in dry Rajasthan. Taken together, the key facts on this page fit into a single picture: Rajasthan's state tree is the khejri, prized because it stays green even in the desert's harsh conditions and is therefore called the 'wish-fulfilling tree of the Thar', while the state flower is the rohida, also known as 'desert teak' or 'Marwar teak'. Jute, the fibre crop behind one of the two REET 2024 questions on this topic, needs a hot, humid climate and heavy rainfall, which is why it is sown in June-July as a kharif (monsoon) crop, grown alongside paddy, maize and bajra — quite different from rabi crops like wheat, gram, mustard and barley, which are sown in October-November for the cooler winter months. And whether a plant is a towering khejri or a small pot of tulsi, every one of them still depends on the same four basics — sunlight, water, air and suitable soil — to grow at all.

Classification by cropping season

Jute is a kharif (monsoon) crop, which is why the correct REET 2024 answer was 'monsoon season', not winter or spring.

How to teach children

Questions asked in REET 2024 (with solutions)

Practice Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Read next