Plants and Animals

zebra. (Image by Lukas Kaffer, GFDL)		python. Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)		Amanita muscaria, a poisonous variety of mushroom. (Image by MichaelMaggs, CC)

The surface of the earth is covered with plants and animals, and we cover many of them in this category. Starting with plants, we explore agriculture and horticulture. Agriculture is the science of producing plants and livestock from the natural resources of the earth. This usually happens on a large scale. Horticulture usually means small-scale gardening and cultivating fruits, vegetables, flowers, and ornamental plants.
Both grew from early man’s need to feed and clothe themselves, and ... agriculture and the domestication of wild animals made it possible for civilizations to be created. Today, modern agriculture feeds most of the people on the planet and is made easier by developments like irrigation, genetic engineering, and the combine harvester. Diseases that typically infect plants are blight, clubroot, gall, and viroid. People who made important contributions to the advancement of agriculture as a science include Jethro Tull, who invented a mechanical drill for sowing seeds, and Eli Whitney, who invented the cotton gin.
Animals, both domesticated and wild, can be found almost anywhere on the planet. Domesticated animals include cattle, horses, sheep, chickens, dogs, llamas, and pigs. The rest of the creatures on the planet are considered wild animals, and this includes mammals, insects, fish, and reptiles. Many varieties of animals can be found in all corners of the globe, deep in the sea, and soaring high in the sky. The study of all animals is called zoology and it includes the classification and naming systems as well as studying fossil records.
The category of plants and animals contains information about many living things on earth. Continue exploring to learn more.

• Agriculture and Horticulture
• Animals
• Botany
• Microbes, Algae, and Fungi
• Plants
• Zoology and Veterinary Medicine