This resource supports you to teach current plant science requirements for 14-16 and post-16 classes. We will guide you through accessible, low-budget plant material and their associated teaching topics. Plants are linked with their teaching topics and coded to exam board requirements to support you, and your lab technician, plan investigations that enable students to engage with plant life, while you keep to budget and cover course content. We have chosen plants and plant parts that can be accessed with little effort, are easily propagated, can be purchased from local shops, or found growing in school grounds. If you know what specification topic you are planning to teach and need support with plant material you can access these resources through a topic entry point.

Summaries are provided for each plant followed by individual plant profiles, which include information on teaching with these plants, caring for them (where applicable), costs, suppliers and links to relevant teaching resources.

Growing Further

If you want to build on your plant teaching and use a broader collection of plants, we have created a second section, Plant Stars, to help you go further. These plants are listed at the end of this page.

Images	Common name	Latin name	Key words		SAPS and Further Resources
	Geranium	Pelargonium spp.	Photosynthesis Adaptation Cells Stomata Leaf variation Plant defences Pollen tubes Rooting hormones		Can leaf discs make starch in the dark? Investigating the behaviour of leaf discs for  photosynthesis Resource: Pollen Tube Growth Resource: Measuring stomatal density   Resource: The response of leaf discs from sun and shade plants to green light
	Cauliflower	Brassica oleracea	Cloning Tissue culture		Cloning cauliflowers
	Mung Bean	Vigna radiata	Cells Plant growth Plant nutrition Hydroponics		What do plants need to grow? Video showing mung bean germination Phosphatase enzymes in plants
	Radish	Raphanus sativus	Plant growth Plant responses and hormones Plant nutrition Enzymes		Investigating seed germination  Describe an experiment to show that shoots grow towards light Investigating the behaviour of leaf discs for  photosynthesis The effects of different levels of minerals on plant growth Investigating whether plants grow better with fertiliser Microscale investigations with Catalase
	Dandelion	Taraxacum officinale	Plant responses Gravitropism Measuring distribution Sampling Abundance		Investigating gravitropism with dandelions Questions about quadrats Ecology Exercise 1
	Aspidistra	Aspidistra elator	Photosynthetic pigments Chromatography		The response of leaf discs from sun and shade plants to green light Investigating the behaviour of leaf discs for  photosynthesis TLC: An investigation into the separation of photosynthetic pigments.
	Duckweed	Lemna minor	Student investigations Population growth		Investigations with Lemna Minor Experimental method and biological concepts demonstrated using duckweed
	Daisy	Bellis perennis	Sampling Quadrats Habitats Distribution Abundance Transect		Ecology Exercise 1 Ecology Exercise 2
	Holly	Ilex aquifolium	Spines Leaves Plant defences Herbivory Adaptation Stomata Leaf structure		What determines the number of spines on a holly leaf? Measuring stomatal density
	Green algae	Scenedesmus quadricauda	Photosynthesis Eutrophication		Photosynthesis using algae wrapped in jelly balls
	Beetroot	Beta vulgaris	Cell structure Plasmolysis Membrane permeability
	Potato	Solanum tuberosum	Cell membranes Osmosis Asexual reproduction Carbon cycle (Decay)		Measuring the water potential of a potato cell Isolating and examining cysts of potato cyst nematodes
	Cress	Lepidium sativum	Effects of pollution Plant growth Plant nutrition		Explore whether cress seedlings grow towards light Investigating the behaviour of leaf discs Growing plants to look at root hairs
	Elodea	Elodea canadensis	Photosynthesis
	Spinach	Spinacia oleracea	Chromatography Photosynthetic pigments		An investigation into the separation of photosynthetic pigments Investigating the behaviour of leaf discs for  photosynthesis Demonstrating the Hill reaction (available for SAPS Associates)
	Onion	Allium spp.	Cell structure Stomata DNA Enzymes		Microscale investigations with Catalase Stomatal Peel Extracting DNA
	Garlic	Allium sativum	Mitosis Fertilisation and cell cycle		Investigating mitosis in allium root tip squash Growing garlic roots
	Broad bean	Vicia faba	Nutrient cycles Nitrogen fixation Mutualism
	Green Cabomba	Cabomba Caroliniana	Photosynthesis		Using Cabomba to demonstrate oxygen evolution in the process of photosynthesis
	Spider plant	Chlorophytum comosum variegatum	Asexual reproduction Cuttings Photosynthesis Rooting hormones Stomata		Measuring stomatal density TLC: An investigation into the separation of photosynthetic pigments. Investigating plant evolution with the SAPS / NCBE PCR kit

Plant stars to inspire your students

These plants are a little harder to source and more difficult to keep flourishing in the classroom, but their fascinating adaptations to habitats from around the world make them a valuable teaching tool for the biology lab.

	Plant common name	Latin name	Key words		SAPS and Further Resources
	Venus' Fly Trap	Dionaea muscipula	Adaptation Interdependence		Using carnivorous plants in the classroom
	Cape Sundew	Drosera capensis	Adaptation Interdependence		Using carnivorous plants in the classroom
	Mimosa	Mimosa pudica	Plant responses		Investigating Thigmotropism
	Living Stones	Lithops spp	Adaptation Mimicry Xerophyte		BBC DVD Private Life of Plants: Surviving
	Common Horsetail	Equisetum arvense	Evolution ‘Living Fossils’		Evolutionary timeline
	Arabidopsis	Arabidopsis thaliana	Genetics Variation Tropisms Inheritance Germination

This resource was developed by Dawn Sanders of Gardens for Learning.