system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Is the process of dying different for plants than it is for animals?

When a plant is dying (e.g. when it doesn't have enough water) it seems like it is usually a long process and often reversible (e.g. when it is watered after a long time), whereas humans or animals just kind of die. Is there any difference in the way death occurs in plants vs animals? Is it possible for a plant to instantly die in the same way that an animal could? Not sure if this question is stupid or not, just curious!
gpt
It's not a dumb question, it's a non-obvious consequence of the major differences between plant and animal cells and body structure.

Your cells in your body are highly specialized for very specific purposes and are extremely energy hungry.  They require a constant supply of nutrition and a great deal of support from other specialized cells to survive.  The cells in your brain are especially bad offenders, they exhaust their energy stores in minutes and die if they lose blood pressure.  Since all other cells rely on their command, the rest of the body dies shortly after.

Plants don't have this degree of specialization or that kind of energy demand.  Their cells operate much more slowly and are better at fending for themselves.  The nutrients in plants aren't actively pumped around by other cells but rather drawn in through simple physics.  Damaged parts get thrown away and regenerated, every cell has an armored shell to defend against attackers.

Plants don't usually die rapidly like animals, the individual cells can persist for days or weeks after the stem has been severed.  Some can even fully regenerate from just a chunk of root if necessary.