Protons, electrons, and neutrons are the three particles of an atom. A proton is a positively charged particle, electron is negatively charged, and a neutron is neutral, as the name itself says. These three are considered to be the smallest particles of an atom (although later the existence of quarks was discovered, which are even smaller).
They either get their source of nutrients from something else. Or, they could also have shorter roots so that they only reach the top of the soil. They probably won't need as much nutrients to survive either.
