Stinging plant

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/stinging-plant

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the evolutionary significance?Primary defense against mammalian herbivory, demonstrating convergent evolution across multiple plant families
2. What is the related families?Prominently in Urticaceae, Loasaceae, Boraginaceae (subfamily Hydrophylloideae), and Euphorbiaceae
3. What makes a plant sting when you touch it?Some plants have tiny hairs called trichomes that act like little needles. When you touch them, the tip breaks and pushes chemicals into your skin, causing a sting.
4. Why do stinging plants have those tiny hairs?The hairs help protect the plant from animals that might eat it. The sting hurts the animal, so it stays away.

Trichomes: Epidermal appendages on plants, often hair-like, serving diverse functions including mechanical and chemical defense.
Convergent Evolution: The independent evolution of similar traits in different lineages, driven by similar environmental pressures or ecological niches.
Herbivory: The process of animals consuming plants; a major selective force in plant evolution.
Biochemicals: Chemical compounds produced by living organisms, such as toxins, enzymes, and hormones.