Survival of Plant Species

Plants have special characteristics for survival and protection from the enemies. These special features also help plants to adapt to the climate of their surroundings.

4.1

Survival of Plant Species

Plants have special characteristics to maintain the survival of their species in two situations:

Protect themselves from the enemies
Adaptation to climate and seasonal changes

Protection from the enemies

The special features of plants for protection are:

sharp thorns
fine hairs
produce latex
poisonous
release stench

Special characteristic	Description	Example
Sharp thorns	Its sharp thorns will injure animals that try to eat it	Durian Cactus
Fine hairs	Fine hairs cause itchiness to the enemy	Bamboo Sugarcane
Produce latex	The sticky latex avoids animals from eating it	Jackfruit Papaya
Poisonous	Poison causes his enemies to get sick or die when eaten	Pong-pong Mushroom
Release stench	Emits an unpleasant odor to prevent animals from eating it	Rafflesia Lantana camara

Adaptation to climate and season

The special characteristics of plants to adapt to climate and seasonal changes are:

Flexible stems
Pinnacle leaves
Needle-shaped leaves
Thorns
Water storing stem
Long roots
Fine hairs
Folding of leaves
Waxy leaves
Shedding of leaves
Thick skins

During high wind season:

Flexible stems and pinnacle leaves on coconut trees can reduce wind resistance
Flexible stems and twigs as well as needle-shaped leaves prevent it from toppling down during strong wind for ru trees

During summer and dry seasons:

Leaves that are modified into thorns on a cactus prevent it from losing water. Its stems that can store water and its long roots can move deep into the soil to absorb water
The fine hairy stems and leaves on tomato plants can prevent them from losing water during hot weather
The turmeric tree fold its leaves during hot weather to prevent water loss
The yam tree has waxy leaves to prevent too much water loss
Rubber trees shed their leaves during hot weather and dry seasons to avoid excessive water loss

Cold climate:

Maple trees have thick bark on the trunk to protect themselves in cold climates
Pine trees have needle-shaped leaves and thick bark to survive in cold climates.
The thick bark on the stems of plants can protect the water absorbed by the plants from freezing due to extreme cold climates.

Survival of Plant Species

Chapter : Plants

Topic : Survival of Plant Species

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