How to Learn About Plants & Animals

Visit a zoo, botanical garden, wildlife preserve or other natural area where you're likely to encounter plants and animals. Even a city park is an excellent place to observe pigeons, squirrels and cultivated flowers and trees. Although books and documentaries provide valuable information, you cannot fully understand plants and animals until you've observed them in person.

Study the taxonomy of plants and animals. To the best of their ability, biologists classify species by genetic heredity and similarity, and by studying the taxonomic classifications, you'll develop a sense of the relationships between species. For instance, both wolves and dogs belong to the genus Canis, highlighting their similarity.

Familiarize yourself with the anatomy of plants and animals. Plants share certain structural features, such as roots and photosynthetic tissue, and animals do, too. Classes of plants and animals also share more specific features, such as birds having wings and mammals having fur. Anatomy helps you identify specific species and helps understand how they interact with their environment.

Read about microbiology. Both plants and animals are actually composed of smaller organisms called cells. Although all cells share certain characteristics, such as DNA and lipid walls, different species also have unique cell types. For instance, only plant cells have chloroplasts. Since cells are the building blocks of plants and animals, understanding them is fundamental to understanding the organism as a whole.