- Through a process known as photosynthesis, all plants with green leaves—from the tiniest mosses to the tallest fir trees—are able to produce their own food.
- This process may take place at any scale.
- In addition to plants and bacteria, photosynthesis may also be carried out by algae, phytoplankton, and some bacteria.
- Chemosynthesis, not photosynthesis, is the means by which certain unusual autotrophs generate their own food; these organisms are autotrophs.