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Plant Adaptation
What is Plant Adaptation?
• Adaptations are special features that allow a plant to live in a particular place or habitat • These specific adaptations make it difficult for the
plant to survive in different places.
How are plants adapted their environment? • Desert plants have developed 3 main strategies in
order to survive:1. Succulence2. Drought Tolerance3. Drought Avoidance
How are plants adapted their environment? • Succulent plants need to absorb large amounts of
water in short periods of time.• Once that water is absorbed they need to be able
to store it for long periods of time.• Most of these plants have long spines to protect
their stores water from other animals.
How are plants adapted their environment? • Drought tolerance refers to a plants ability to
withstand states of extreme dryness with out dying.• Most of these plants shed their leaves in order to
prevent loss of water through transpiration.
• Some plants completely avoid droughts by dying!• They will mature in a single season, then die after
producing seeds.
How are plants adapted their environment? • In the Atacama Desert (the driest
place on Earth), the cardon cactus (Echinopsis atacamensis) is very well adapted to the arid environment.• The cactus is densely covered
with hair in order to trap as much of the moisture as possible.• The cactus can grow up to 33 ft
high with maroon covered spines up to 12 inches long.
Why do carnivorous plants eat insects?• Carnivorous plants derive some or most of their
nutrients (but not energy!) from insects.• These plants have adapted to grow in places where
the soil is thin and poor in nutrients.
How is the Venus Fly Trap an example of adaptation?• The Venus fly trap is a carnivorous
plant native to North and South Carolina.• The soil in N & S Carolina is very
poor in nitrogen so the Venus fly trap must make up for those nutrients with trapping insects.
How is the Venus Fly Trap an example of Adaptation?• It catches its prey with a fast acting
trapping structure.• The plants reaction is triggered by
tiny hairs on their inner surface.• When an insect or spider crawls
along the leaves contacts a hair, the trap closes if a different hair is contacted within 20 seconds of the first strike.
The Venus Fly Trap
Exit Ticket
1. What is an example of succulence?2. How can some plants tolerate droughts?3. Why do carnivorous plants need to eat insects?4. What is transpiration?5. What are the three things you need to remember
about the Xylem?6. What are the three things you need to remember
about the Phloem?
