Rensselaer Republican, Volume 25, Number 4, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 September 1892 — The Lungs of a Plant. [ARTICLE]

The Lungs of a Plant.

Globe-Democrat, One of the prettiest microscopical studies is the examination of the lung* of a plant. Most people do not know a plant has lungs, but it has, and its lungs are in its leaves. Examined "through a high-power microscope, every leaf will show thousands upon of openings, infinitely small, of course, but each provided with lips which, in many species, are continually opening and closing. These openings lead to tiny cavities in the bodies of the leaf, and by the opening and closing of the cavity air is continually passing in and out, so that the act of prespiration is continually going on. The sap of the plant is thus purified, just as the blood of an animal is cleared of impurities by passing through the lungs, the average sized tree will, therefore, in the course of a day, do as much breathing as a man. *