Adaptations of Living Things - Part 1
POND plants live a life completely opposite to that of a desert plant. Pond plants must deal with being submerged, or partially submerged, in water. Shore plants, such as cattails and bulrushes, have adapted to being submerged part of the time.
Surface dwelling plants, like water lilies or duckweed, have large air pockets in their leaves so that they will float in the water. They have large, broad leaves and thick, flexible stems that anchor them to the bottom of the pond. These plants have air pores on the upper surface of the leaves so that the plant can get oxygen and carbon dioxide gases.
Plants that live underwater all the time have soft, feathery leaves. This means the leaves are flexible and sway easily with the current. If the plants had hard branches, a strong current could snap the branch, or damage harder leaves.
FOREST plants must deal with a large range of temperatures - sometimes from -30C to +30C. There are two types of forest trees - coniferous trees and deciduous trees.
Coniferous trees are your typical Christmas trees - the ones with the needles. The needles are waxy and small, and help reduce water loss and prevents the tree from freezing in the winter. The seeds and pollen of a coniferous tree are produced in cones, so they can be spread by the wind. Coniferous trees are tall and triangular shaped, with fairly flexible branches - this is an adaptation for heavy snows. The snow will simply slide off the sloping sides of the tree, instead of piling up and creating a great weight that will break branches.
Deciduous trees are the kinds of trees that lose their leaves in the autumn. Losing their leaves is a sign that the trees are becoming dormant, which helps them survive the winter. If you look at a single branch of a deciduous tree, you will notice that the leaves are arranged so that no two leaves are directly on top of the each other. Often, the leaves will alternate on the branch so that each leaf can get the maximum amount of sunlight possible.
Plants that live in the shade of the tall trees in the forest have wide, thin leaves to get as much sunlight as they can. Usually, shady plants in a forest reproduce before the trees do. This way, the shady plants can get some sunlight and grow before the trees block the sun.
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