Plants That Kids Love to Touch

From the fuzzy fiddleheads of ferns to the touch-responsive leaves of the sensitive plant, many plants extend their leaves, buds, stems, blooms and seed heads, encouraging you to come closer. Here are just a few.

By Susan Morgan
Filed under: Plants

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A Lot to Play With

All parts of the lotus are interesting in one way or another. The flower is beautiful and large, about six to eight inches across. After the blooms are spent, the seed heads dry, forming pockmarked holes in which the seeds rest. When shaken, the seed heads sound like maracas. Cut a cross-section of the tuber, and a honeycomb structure is revealed.
Each lotus leaf is a round, wavy disk supported by a stem that attaches at the middle. The leaf is waxy to the touch and has hydrophobic properties; when water drops hit the leaf, they roll around like beads of mercury. Kids love to play with this plant.