Plant Adaptations

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Plants are adapted to their habitats. Desert plants like cacti store water in stems, have spines instead of leaves, and deep or wide roots. Aquatic plants have air spaces for buoyancy and thin leaves. Rainforest plants have drip-tip leaves to shed water and tall growth to reach light. Arctic plants are low and hairy to resist wind and cold.

Epiphytes grow on trees, carnivorous plants trap insects, and mangroves cope with salt. These features show natural selection.

Marram grass on sand dunes rolls its leaves to trap moist air, and water lilies have stomata on the upper surface of floating leaves. Mangroves have breathing roots to take air from the mud and tolerate salt. Carnivorous plants such as Venus flytraps live in poor soils and get nitrogen from insects.

Rainforest plants often have drip tips to shed water and large leaves to catch light in shade. Arctic plants grow low and in dense mats to reduce wind exposure. Studying adaptations shows how natural selection fits organisms to environments. A common error is describing adaptation as plants choosing to change; it is the result of inheritance over generations. Link each feature to the problem it solves, such as water supply, light, support or temperature.