Adaptation in Plants

Key Concepts
• Need for adaptation in plants • Adaptation of plants on land with examples
• Adaptation of plants in water with examples • Adaptationofplantsindesertwithexample
• Adaptation of plants in hilly areas with examples

Every animal fulfills its basic requirements of food, water, and shelter from its immediate
environment, which is called its h
The ability of animals to suitably adapt themselves to their changing environmentis
called a

Activity
Observe the following pictures and match the animals to their habitats.
Column A •a
Column B

Yak Polar region

Dolphin Mountainous region

Crabs Desert

Camel Sea shore

Penguin Forest

Gorilla Ocean

What made you identify the various habitats in

the above activity? Did you observe
the difference in plants in these habitats?

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Like animals, plants too are found in almost every corner of the earth —from the frozen
Arctic to the dense rainforests, from the top of mountains to the bottom of oceans, and
from vast grasslands to arid deserts.

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Plants develop peculiar characteristics in order to adapt to their particular habitat. As a
result, they not only survive but also thrive in their varied habitats.
[You will study more about the various landforms, climates, and their vegetation in Thenzes 4
and 5 of Social Studies.]

Polar ice-caps Rainforests Grasslands

Hills Deserts Coasts

Can the same plants grow in all the places? Yes/ No

There is a vast variety of plants on Earth.
Plants that grow on land are called terrestrialplants.
Plants that grow in water are called aquatic plants.
Ocean floor
Adaptation in Terrestrial Plants
The word 'terrestrial' means 'living on or in the ground / land'.
Land itself has many different landforms such as polar regions, mountains, plains,
deserts, rainforests, coasts, and marshes. The environment is different in all these places.

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1. Polar regions
The North and South Poles are the coldest places on our planet.
• They have a very long winter and a very short summer season. There is hardly any
sunshine during the harsh winter months.
• During the short summer, although the top layer of soil thaws, the soil just
below the surface soil is thick solid ice, i.e. it is permanently frozen. Hence, the
plants have a very thin layer
of soil to grow. The sunlight Purplß>
is feeble;the air is cold and
dry. Yet the snowy landscape
gets transformed with bright
colourful flowers. Cranberry
• The plants grow close to the
ground, like a carpet.
• The leaves overlap each other
and the flowers grow close o
together, almost as if they are
huddling together for warmth. Arcticpoppy
You have heard of this huddling behaviour in animal adaptations too.
Name the animal / bird exhibitinghuddling behaviour.
During long winters, these plants i.e. remain dormant or inactive, and
in summers, they bloom again.
Name the animals that hibernate.
Berries such as cranberry and blueberry and flowers such as purple saxifrage and
Arctic poppy make the dull icy lands vibrant with their colours.

2. Mountains and Hills

Hilly regions can get very cold. In fact, the higher you climb, the colder it gets.
Different
types of plants grow at different levels.

Did You Know?

Every mountain has a tree-line, i.e. the height of the mountain above
the sea level
beyond which trees do not grow. This is because it is too cold for trees
to grow at this
elevation. Smaller plants, mostly flowery, dot this landscape during
spring.

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 Plants of hilly areas, such as pines and firs, have adapted
themselves such that they can survive severe cold and snowfall.
• Trees in hilly areas grow straight and tall. They
have a sloping conicalstructure which prevents
snow from settling down and freezing them.
• They have long and narrow needle-like leaves
that do not fall at a time. As a result, these
trees have leaves throughout thc year. So
they are termed as evergreen trees.
• Instead of flowers, these
trees grow cones which
contain seeds. The presence of
cones gives them the name 'conifer trees', and
the forests having such type of trees are called
coniferous forests.

• Non-flowering plants like ferns and mosses also grow

here.
• Trees growing in lower regions (valleys)shed their
leaves in the autumn, so as to survive the harsh
winters.
These trees have broad leaves. The size and shape of leaves differ in different trees.

an oak leaf a beech leaf a maple leaf a birch leaf

3. Plains
Plains are mostly areas of flat lands. Their climatic conditions vary from very hot and
dry to very cold. These regions also have a distinct monsoon season.
Plants growing in these regions adapt themselves to survive in all seasons.
Most of the trees, like neem, banyan, peepal, palash, and mango, have several
branches, which make them look really vast.
These trees produce many flowers and fruits.
The seeds are inside the fruit.

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 Sometreesbegin to shed their leaves in autumn
1 and begin to grow new leaves in spring. Such trees
are called deciduous trees, e.g. peepal, gulmohar,
mulberry, poplar, and sheesham.
They also make the plains vibrant with their beautiful
bright flowers during summers.

4. Deserts
Deserts are the h — and driest places in the world. Hence, very few
plants are found in these regions.
Can you state other features of a desert? Fill in the correct option.
1. There is (lots of / very little or no) rainfall.
2. It gets very . (cold / hot) during the day and very (cold / hot)at
night. Sometimes the difference between day and night temperatures is 400C.
3. The soil is very . (wet / dry) and lacks minerals and water.
As dry wind keeps blowing continuously over the
desert, the sand keeps shifting. So, it becomes very
difficultfor plants to take root and grow in sandy
deserts.
The Namib Desert in Africa has some of the tallest
shifting sand dunes.
Not all deserts have sand —some are rocky, some have stones.
Desert plants have adapted themselves to survive the scarcity of water and also
long
periods of drought (no rain). Examples of desert plants are desert spoons,
prickly
pears, and ball cactus.
The cactus is the most famous desert plant. It is very well
adapted to survive in the
desert because it cuts down water loss.
• The stem acts like a tank. It stores up
water during rains and uses this water
later during the long dry periods of
no rain.
• The stem has a waxy surface to prevent
water from escaping. Pricklypear Ball Cactus Desert spoon
(Opuntia)

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• The stem is thick, green, and fleshy, and it takes up the function of the leaves, namely
photosynthesis, i.e. making food.
• In a cactus, the leaves are reduced to spines. Spines minimize the water loss and also
protect plants from animals.
• Cacti roots spread out widely to draw every bit of available water.

Find Out
Many cacti produce flowers. These bloom mostly at night and live for
a very short time, some for just one night. Do you know why?

Did You Know?

Aloe vera plant that is widely used for skin beauty products is
actually a type of cactus! Its leaves store water in the form of a gel
—a jelly-like liquid. The gel has many medicinal benefits. It is good
for skin and is used to treat minor burns, scratches, bruises, etc.

5. Coasts and Vlarshes

hip J sea

Coastal areas are unique habitats as land and sea

come together. The air is salty too. The sea rises and
falls twice a day. Plants adapt themselves to being
submerged in salty water during a high tide, and
drying out in the heat of the Sun when the water
recedes during a low tide.

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 palm trees (oil palm and areca palm) and coconut plantations
One can usually find
adapted to such conditions.
along the coastal areas as these trees are
humid climate.
Coconut palms need plenty of sunlight and a warm
strong winds.
• They have very strong but flexible stems to withstand
they are evergreen trees.
They do not shed all their leaves at a time. Hence
by sea water to far off places.
• The fruits and seeds of coastal plants get scattered

Activity
observe the types of soil,
Whenever you go to a coastal region or a beach, them with the types
plants (flora), and creatures (fauna) of that place. Compare
you find in the place you live. Discuss in the classroom.

Swamps and marshes are areas on land where the soil remains completely waterlogged.
The soil is clayey —it holds water and does not let it drain.
Mangrove trees grow in this sticky, clayey, and salty mud
which has no air in it. As all plants need air to survive, these
trees have specially adapted themselves to get oxygen.
• Mangrove trees have special vertical roots, the tips of
which have openings that always remain above the
surface of the water. These are called breathing roots —
they take in oxygen from the air, not from the soil.
• Mangrove trees have a network of branching roots to
support them in the extra-soft waterlogged mud.

Fact File
Mangrove trees do a very important job —their network of dense roots holds the mud
together, thus protecting the coastline from erosion.

Activity
Game Activity —Become a quiz master
Children can create riddles on examples for each adaptation
of plants. They can draw
pictures of plants and ask about their habitats and
adaptation.

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Adaptations in Aquatic Plants
plants. ('Aqua' in Latin means
Plants that grow in water are called
or
water.) These plants survive in two main habitats —saline and freshwater. Saline
survive
saltwater areas include coasts, salty marshes, seas, and oceans. Freshwater plants
in rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes.
Aquatic plants have to survive permanent
subtnergence, changing water levels, strong winds Did You Know?
and water tnovenwnt, and unstable soil. Besides, Only about 3% of Earth's water
unlike freshwater plants, saltwater plants have to • is freshwater. The rest is salty.
tolerate salt.
Aquatic plants are of three types —fixed, floating, and underwater plants.

I. Fixed plants
In water bodies such as ponds and lakes, where sunlight reaches the bottom, aquatic
plants root in the mud.
Water lilies and lotus are the most commonly known fixed water plants.
Their roots are fixed to the bottom of the waterbody.
The thin hollow stalk / stem provides flexibility to
survive the flow of the water.
Their leaves, which are attached to the long flexible leaf
stalks, float on the surface.
• Leavesare mostly broad and have a waxy surface,
so water does not stay on them. The waxy texture of
leaves prevents them from rotting in water. 'nuddy so'
The stomata are present on the upper side which is Waterlilyplant
exposed to air.
2. Floating plants
Pistia, water hyacinth, duckweed, and water lettuce are the common floating plants.
• Their light and spongy body keeps them afloat.
• Their floating leaves are broad and leaves
have stomata only on the upper
surfaceas their undersurface is in
contact with water.
• Their roots hang freely in the waters, roots
providing the balance they need to
survive the changing currents. Pistia Hyacinth
Duckweed with blooming flowers spreads on the surface
of a waterbody, like a green carpet, blocking the entry of
air into the water.
Water hyacinth looks very pretty with its purple flowers,
but it is a fast-growing weed and can choke other aquatic
lives once it covers the surface of a lake or a pond.
Duckweed with flowers
3. Underwater / Submerged plants
Hydrilla, tapegrass, and pondweed are a few examples of plants that grow from the
bed of deep water bodies such as seas and oceans. They are called underwater or
submerged plants.
• These plants grow in very less light as
not much sunlight reaches under water.
They have thin narrow leaves
stomata.
They absorb all the nutrients they need,
including carbon dioxide, from water.
• The only function of their roots is to fix
them to the bottom of the waterbody, so
that they do not get carried away by the
water current.
Hydrilla Tapegrass Pondweed
Other Special Adaptations
Some plants have special adaptationsto meet their nutritionalrequirements.These
include insectivorous plants and fungi.
Insectivorousplants
Some plants eat insects such as spiders and flies as food. These are called insectivorous
or carnivorous plants. Examples:Venus flytrap, sundew, and pitcher plant. Theyhave
special features to attract and trap insects as their prey to feed on later.

Insectivorous plants grow in places like swamps and

rocky areas where the soil is poor in minerals they need.
So, they have evolved to get the nutrients and minerals
from animals. The pitcher plant has leaves in the form Of a
pitcher, with a lid on top, which shuts as soon as an
enters it.
Pitcher plant

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Saprophytic or non-green plants
Some plants do not contain c — Il, the green pigment.
So, they cannot prepare their own food. Such plants
are saprophytic in nature. They
grow on other green plants,
dead and decaying plants
Will vou and animals, and on stale
Itave me for food. Such plants are called
breakfast?
fungi. Bread mould and
Breadmould mushrooms are a type of Mushrooms growing on
fungi. tree trunks and dead leaves

Project
Make a group of four. Prepare a chart depicting the adaptations of plants in different
habitats that you have studied. Make a presentation to the class, explaining the reason
for each adaptation.

New Words to Learn

coniferous —cone-bearing trees found in hilly areas
evergreen —a plant that retains its green leaves throughout the year
deciduous —a plant that sheds its leaves each year
swamp —an area having water-logged soil; it is generally close to a waterbody
insectivorous —living thing which feeds on insects
saprophytic —non-green plants and living things which feed on dead and decaying
matter and on stale food

Now I Know
• Plants grow naturally in all corners of the world —from the frozen Arctic to
the
bottom of oceans, and from dense rainforests to arid deserts.
• A habitat is the natural home of a plant or animal.
• Plants have adaited themselves according to their habitats.
• The ability of plants to suitably adjust themselves to live in a particular environment
is called adaptation.
• Plants that grow on land are called terrestrial plants.
• In the Arctic, plants burst to life in summers. They grow close to the ground; their
leaves are thick and waxy with very few stomata.

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• Conifers are sloping, cone-bearing trees with needle-like leaves, growing in hilly
regions.
Stems of desert plants are leaf-like, having waxy surface to prevent water from
escaping into the hot air.
• Cacti store water in their stems and grow thorns in place of leaves to minimize
water loss. Thorns also protect them from being eaten by animals.
• Mangrove trees grow in sticky marshy mud which lacks air and hence oxygen.
Therefore, for survival, they have developed breathing roots that remain above the
water. Thus, these plants take in oxygen from the air, not from the soil.
There are three types of aquatic plants fixed,floating, and underwater.
Insectivorous plants grow in soil which is poor in minerals. So, they develop special
features to trap insects and get nutrients from them.
Some plants like mushrooms and other kinds of fungi do not contain chlorophyll.
So, they get their nutrients from dead plants and animals and stale food.