The Living World · NCERT Class 3 Our Wondrous World

Getting to Know Plants

Plants are living things all around us. Tap each idea to learn the parts of a plant, meet trees, shrubs, herbs and creepers, and find out what plants need and how they help us.

🌱 3 topics⏱ ~12 min📝 8-question quiz

Play with it

Six things about plants

Tap each term to get to know the parts and kinds of plants.

Explore · Plantstap a term

Learn

Three big ideas

Roots grow underground, hold the plant in place and drink water.
The stem holds the plant up and carries water and food to every part.
Leaves make food in sunlight, and flowers turn into fruit and seeds.

Look. Pull up a small weed with its roots. Can you find the root, stem and leaves?

The thread-like part with soil is the root, the part you hold is the stem, and the flat green bits are the leaves.

Trees are big and tall with a hard, woody trunk, like the mango and neem.
Shrubs are smaller and bushy; herbs are short and soft, like tulsi or coriander.
Creepers and climbers have weak stems — they spread on the ground or climb up a support, like the money plant or a gourd vine.

Common mix-up: Not every plant is a tree. Tiny herbs in a kitchen pot and the grass on the ground are plants too.

Plants need sunlight, air, water and soil to grow. Like us, they need food and water.
In return, plants give us so much — food, shade, wood, medicine and fresh air to breathe.
We care for plants by watering them, keeping them in the sun, and never plucking leaves and flowers carelessly.

Try it. Name two things you used today that came from a plant.

Your breakfast roti (from wheat), a wooden pencil, cotton clothes, or a fruit — all gifts from plants.

Where you'll see it

Plants in our lives

A kitchen garden

Tomatoes, chillies and curry leaves growing in pots show how plants give us fresh food right at home.

Shade of a big tree

On a hot day, a tree’s shade keeps us cool — one of the many free gifts plants give.

Medicine from plants

Tulsi and aloe are plants people use to feel better — proof that plants help keep us healthy.