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Name: Britney
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Question:
A flowering plant is mature when it..? I do not get it please help me!

Replies:
Britney,

Good question! The easiest answer would be to say that an organism, meaning any living thing, is "mature" when it is old enough to reproduce, meaning to make more if itself.

If you have a puppy, or a kitten, you know that those animals would be called "mature" when they are old enough to be able to have puppies or kittens. Until that time they would be considered to be too young or "immature", which means "not mature".

Things work the same way with plants. When a normal plant is old enough to produce flowers that can successfully help produce seeds, those plants can correctly be called "mature". (There are some plants which are changed by scientists in that they will never be able to produce seed, so those plants fall into a different group. Also, some plants can be "boy" plants and some "girl" plants, so not all plants will have seeds.) The way things work naturally, is that mature organisms can become involved in reproduction; before that time, the organisms are called "immature".

Thanks for using NEWTON!!

Ric Rupnik

Basically, a flowering plant is mature when it flowers and fruits.
http://www.kidsgardening.com/2005.kids.garden.news/dec/pg1.html

Anthony R. Brach, PhD
Missouri Botanical Garden


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