Transcript Plant Adaptations - 5th Grade Garner

Plant Adaptations
Composed by Mrs. Terri Reed
5th Grade, Brookhollow Elementary
Lufkin, Texas
July 2004
Plants are perfectly suited to
survive in their habitat.
•A cactus does not need much water.
•It lives in the desert, where there’s little rain.
•A fern needs water every few days.
•It lives in a forest where it often rains.
Adaptations
•Like animals, plants have behaviors
(responses) and body parts (structures)
that help them survive by meeting basic
needs.
•These are called adaptations.
•They vary from plant to plant,
according to the plant’s type of habitat.
How can plants respond?
•Plants respond to
light.
•They use energy from
sunlight to make their
own food.
•Turning towards light
helps collect as much
light as possible.
•The Fish Hook cactus
grows toward the sun.
Plants respond to touch
•Vines can sense contact with a wall,
tree, fence or trellis. The vine grabs on
and grows upward.
• Snailseed vine is native to Texas.
Responding to gravity
•A plant senses the
pull of gravity.
•Its roots grow
downward, toward
the pull of gravity.
•This helps the
plant get water and
nutrients from the
soil.
•Stems grow
upward and raise
the leaves to
sunlight.
Responding to water
•Plants need
water in order
to survive, and
roots will grow
towards a
water source.
Deep roots
•During dry winter
months, prairie
grasses have to grow
deep in order to find
water underground.
•One single grass
plant may have a root
network two to three
miles (3.2 to 4.8 km)
long.
•These extensive root
webs also prevent
grazing animals from
pulling their roots out
of the ground.
Roots can grow on rocks
•Some plants have learned to survive with
tiny amounts of soil.
•These plants have tiny roots that grow in
dirt stuck in the cracks of this rock.
Leaves
•Some plants have
special leaves to
help them survive.
•The magnolia tree
leaves have thick,
waxy surfaces to
prevent water loss.
Thin leaves
•Pine tree needles have a small surface
area, so very little water is lost through
them.
Seeds
•Seeds must be
scattered in order
for plants to
reproduce.
•The seeds must
travel far enough
from their parent
plant to meet their
needs and avoid
competition.
Seed-shooters
•Witch hazel plants
produce powerful
seedpods that can
shoot its seed up to
40 feet away.
Spinning seeds
•Maple trees have
seeds with propellers
that slow their fall so
the wind can carry
them.
•They are about an
inch long and have two
wings. They drop from
the tree spinning like
the blades of a
helicopter.
Dandelion seeds
•Dandelion seeds
are adapted to
travel by wind.
•They have fluffy
hairs that act as
parachutes which
transport them on
wind currents.
Cocklebur seeds
•Cocklebur seeds
travel by latching on
to animal fur or
people’s clothing.
•They have sharp
hooks that can be
difficult to remove.
•They are sometimes
called "hitchhikers.“
Black walnut trees
•Black walnut trees
give off a
substance that
prevents the
growth of young
plants.
•New plants don't
grow around the
tree to compete for
space.
Bright, sweet smelling flowers
To aid in pollination,
many flowering plants
produce a sweetsmelling nectar in
bright colored blooms
that attracts insects
and hummingbirds.
• The nectar rubs off on
these organisms and is
carried to the next
flower.
Rotten-smelling plants
•Some plants
smell really bad!
•The rafflesia
plant smells like
rotting meat.
•This odor
attracts flies
which pollinate
the flower.
Plant defenses
•Plants must be able to defend
themselves against predators in order
to survive.
•Some plants, like the Locoweed, are
poisonous to animals.
Thorns
•Animals quickly learn to avoid plants
with thorns.
•A rose is one plant with this defense.
Prickly Pear Cactus
•Since many desert
plants store water in
their spongy tissue,
animals will eat
them for the
moisture.
•Thorns keep the
Prickly Pear Cactus
safe from many
animal predators.
Stinging plants
•This stinging
nettle plant
causes a
painful sting to
animals and
people.
Mimicry
•One way some plants defend
themselves is through mimicry.
• The lithops of Africa have stubby
patterned leaves and disguise
themselves as pebbles.
Meat-eating plants
•Pitcher plants are
carnivorous plants that
trap and consume
insects and spiders in
their leaves to satisfy
their nitrogen needs.
Adaptations for cold habitats
•Life in an environment
that stays cold almost
all year requires special
adaptations.
•The Alpine snowbell
flowers in early spring
when snow is still on
the ground.
•It generates enough
heat to melt a hole in
the snow.
Cushion plants
•In the tundra it’s cold all year except for a
few weeks in the summer.
•Cushion plants grow in a low, tight clump
and look like a little cushion. This helps
protect them from the cold.
Trees that keep leaves in winter
•Evergreen trees keep
their leaves, but their
cone shape helps
prevent damage.
•Branches droop
downward, which helps
shed excess snow.
•The needle-like leaves
help keep the trees
warm during the winter.
Trees that lose their leaves
•Some trees that live
in habitats with hot
summers and cold
winters become
dormant in the fall.
•They lose their
leaves to prevent
them from freezing
and keeps their
branches from
breaking during snow
storms.
•Birch, Aspen and Fir
all lose their leaves.
Hot and dry habitats
•Plants that live in
hot and dry
environments
need the ability to
store water in
order to survive.
•The African
baobab tree has a
huge trunk that
can store as much
as 100kL of water.
Stems that store water
•The Saguaro
Cactus stores all of
its water in its
green stem.
•Extending far
away from its trunk
is a large net of
roots that collect
water after rain.
Expanding shape
•The pleated shape of the Barrel Cactus
allows it to expand when it rains and
store water in its spongy tissue. It
shrinks in size during dry times as it
uses the stored water.
Reflecting surfaces
•The white hairy
surface of the Old
Man Cactus helps
the plant reflect the
hot desert sun.
Dark and steamy habitats
•Rain forests are hot,
wet and dark. Plants
grow so close together
that very little sunlight
reaches the bottom of
the forest.
•Some rain forests
plants have adapted to
survive by climbing up
to the light.
•Rattan palms connect
rain forest trees. They
grow up into the tree
tops and loop back
down.
Plants that grow on others
•Orchids do not need soil in order to
survive.
•They grow on tree trunks or on tree
branches and get their nutrients from
their hosts.
Plants that strangle others
•The strangler fig germinates
high up in a host tree, then
sends down roots.
•When the roots hit the
ground, the plant competes
with the host tree for water
and nutrients.
•The roots grow around the
tree and cuts off the flow of
nutrients.
•Leaves grow thickly at the
tree top, which steals the host
tree’s light.
•Eventually the host dies, and
the strangler fig stands on its
own.
Splitting, peeling bark
•The durian trees
have rough, dark
brown bark which
splits and peels
off irregularly.
•This prevents
vines from
growing on it and
helps the tree
survive.
Supporting trunks
•Because rain forest soil is usually poor, trees often have
shallow root systems and need structures to help support
them.
•Some trees, like the Kapok tree, have thick buttresses
that can stretch out 10 m (33 ft) or more.
Broad leaves for low light
•Plants that live
under the canopy
do not get much
light.
•Like other trees,
banana trees have
large leaves that
capture as much
light as possible.
Drip tips
•Rain forests receive between 1.8m (6 ft)
and 9m (30ft) of rainfall a year.
•Because they are constantly wet, most
tree leaves have a narrow, down-sloping
tips that help water run off.
Grassland prairies
•Most prairie grasses are adapted to fire.
•During a prairie fire, the above-ground
part of the plant is destroyed, but the rest
of the plant is underground and
protected by the soil.
Floating plants
•Plants that live in wetlands have special
adaptations as well.
•Water lily leaves float on the water’s
surface.
Marsh plants
•Water starwort lives
in marshes.
•Their roots are
used mainly as
anchors.
•Water, nutrients
and gases are
absorbed
throughout their
bodies.
•Its pollen is carried
by the water.
Consider what you’ve learned…
Could a fern survive in
a desert?
Could a cactus survive
in a forest?
What do you think?
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