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Plants are the basis of the food chain, the crucial link in the cycle of life; every living thing depends directly or indirectly on plants. Their diversity, habitats and adaptations are astounding, from the smallest flowers blooming in the short arctic spring, to the tallest trees in the dense forest. In this fascinating film, the processes of plant life, invisible because of their slowness, are sped up by time-lapse photography. It reveals the anatomical structure of seeds and plants, including chlorophyll cells, roots, cotyledons and stomata, and their impressive energy as they move and grow toward light and moisture (examples of tropism), reproduce, and perform the vital processes of manufacturing food through photosynthesis and releasing water through transpiration.

Though we often take the abundance of plants for granted, we are reminded of the interdependence of all species and the need to walk gently among the living organisms which share our world.