Manganese oxide is a type of chemical called a compound made up of manganese and oxygen. It has a cool black or brownish-black color depending on how it's made.
You know how when you play with clay, sometimes it gets dry and hard, and other times it's still soft? Well, manganese oxide is really good at helping things that are usually soft and squishy, like clay, become hard and not squishy anymore. This is because manganese oxide acts as a sort of glue that holds things together.
Manganese oxide also has other cool jobs. Sometimes, plants need certain things in order to grow big and strong. One of the things they need is called "manganese," which is like food for plants. Manganese oxide is really good at releasing this food so that plants can eat it up and grow bigger and better.
So, manganese oxide is a special chemical that can make things like clay hard, and help plants grow big and strong.