What are a few examples of plant adaptation?

Answer 1

Adaptions of plants refers to ways in which the plant has undergone changes to it's genes as well as physical appearance in order to survive in a hostile or competitive environment.

These changes normally take place over hundreds or even millions of years through the process of natural selection. Occasionally a genetic mutation may also be introduced which proves to be beneficial for survival - this is then incorporated into the plant population through interbreeding.

There are literally hundreds of examples, so will try to cover as many representative ones as possible. Some are so mundane you wouldn't even think about them.

• Cacti have evolved spines to replace leaves to reduce transpiration and offer protection from predators - most thorns and spines are protection adaptations.
• Some vines have evolved tendrils or suckers to be able to hoist their foliage up into areas of optimal light and avoid the completion on the ground.
• The Venus Flytrap has evolved "traps" to catch insects and supplement the nutrient requirements lacking in its natural soil.
• Halophytic plants have evolved mechanisms to be able to utilize salt or brack water, normally by expelling the salt through pores.
• Jungle plants have evolved large deep green leaf surfaces to maximise their exposure to the sun while on the jungle floor.
• Many desert or arid plants have evolved silver leaves or leaves covered with reflective hairs in order to reflect excessive heat.
• The entire nature and mechanism of deciduous plants is a survival mechanism, brought about so that the plants can preserve resources and endure long periods of frost or snow.
• Some desert/ arid region plants like Protoasparagus have developed underground storage organs to store water when it is periodically available.

Answer 2

adaptation means the change in organisms to the changing environment . there r 2 types of adaptations 1)plant adaptation - many plants like xerophytes , bryophytes ,etc . are some eg. of plant adaptation . 2)animal adaptation- many animals change their living habitat according 2 d nature . aman sodera student loyola school jsr

Answer 3

I guess technically all of the plant's anatomy is an adaptation to living on land.

More specific and probably more interesting examples of defensive adaptations are the way some plants have built-in little homes for certain species of ants. They'll grow a little hollow out of a stem with a hole so and ants and enter and leave the nest, and sometimes the plant will even feed the ants honeydew. The reason why they do this is because the ants are their protectors, and not just from animals either. There is a plant that actually uses ants like this to keep other plants, and even sometimes members of it's own species at bay so it can hog the sun. However, the ants won't attack the offspring of this plant. The plant I'm talking about is called the Duroia hirsuta which lives in the Amazon rainforest. Definitely look it up, it's a pretty neat case of ant/plant symbiosis.

Another example of adaptation are the thorns on many plants. It's another form of self defense, but some animals have adapted to those adaptations. For example, the thorny Acacia is a favorite food source for giraffes. They have some serious spikes, but the tongue of the giraffe has evolved to cope with that challenge by becoming super long, thick, prehensile, and keeps a good coat of thick mucus, and thick, leathery lips; all of which helps protect it while the giraffe picks and browses for its favorite leaves. Sometimes the giraffe has to contend with ants that the acacia feeds in order to protect it. Yes, acacias and ants are also homies.

Flowers are another interesting, though older, adaptation that came around during the time of the dinosaurs, actually. Flowering plants have revolutionized insect/plant symbiosis, and plant reproduction. Before flowers, plants just had to send their seeds and pollen into the wind in the hopes that their genes can mix and carry on, or they simply grew clones of themselves. Though cloning yourself is fast and efficient, it's also risky. Without genetic diversity, parasites and diseases are bound to eventually get the upper hand and can wipe out entire populations of plants because they've not been able to evolve natural defenses against them. Flowers coax insects with food, and even sometimes sex (no joke, orchids are a strangely sexy flower) to get the insects to pollinate other neighbor plants. This form of sexual reproduction, though more calorie-expensive, pays off because the genetic diversity is continual and varied, and it allows for faster geological adaptations in the offspring of flowering plants as well. A HUGE advantage in the evolutionary scheme of things.