Adaptations in Plants and Animals are important for their survival.Different living organisms undergo different type of adaptations.It is an important topic for ICSC biology class 6.
What is a habitat?
A habitat is a natural home of an organism. Some of the examples of habitats are -
Organisms Habitat
Lion Forest
Camel Desert
Fish Ponds, lakes etc
Earthworm moist soil
The habitat of an organism includes two types of components i.e biotic and abiotic. Biotic components include plants, trees, other birds and animals. Abiotic components include sunlight, oxygen, rain, temperature etc.
What is adaptation?
Adaptation is the ability of an organism to adjust itself in a particular environment. Adaptations help the organisms to survive easily in a particular environment. An organism that is not able to adapt itself according to the environment cannot survive. Adaptations include physical and behaviour changes that help the organism to live, grow and reproduce successfully according to the environment.
Adaptations in Plants
Plants are divided into three main categories on the basis of the availability of water. These are -
1.Hydrophytes - These are the aquatic plants that are found in water bodies such as ponds, rivers, lakes etc.For example - lotus, water lily, water hyacinth, vallisneria etc.
2.Mesophytes - These are the terrestrial plants that grow on land and need sufficient amount of water. For example - herbs, shrubs etc.
3.Xerophytes - These are the plants that are mostly found in deserts and need less amount of water.For example - cactus, opuntia, acacia etc.
What are the main adaptations found in hydrophytes?
Hydrophytes or aquatic plants are mainly divided into the following groups -
*Free-floating - These are the plants that are found floating freely on the surface of water and are not fixed in the soil. For example - duckweed, water hyacinth etc.
*Free floating and rooted - The leaves of these plants are found floating on the surface of water as they have long petioles but their roots are fixed in the soil. For example - lotus, water lily etc.
*Floating and submerged - These plants are found to be submerged in water but their roots are not fixed in the soil. For example - utricularia etc.
*Rooted and submerged - These plants are also submerged in water but their roots are fixed in the soil. For example - vallisneria, hydrilla etc.
What are the adaptations found in hydrophytes?
Aquatic plants or hydrophytes generally undergo the following adaptations -
*Mucilage helps in protecting the submerged parts of the plants from decay.
*Submerged plants such as hydrilla have narrow, long and ribbon shaped leaves that allow water to pass through them.
*Plants such as lily and lotus have flexible and spongy stems that help them in floating as they enclose a number of air spaces.
*Leaves of lotus and water lily broad, large and flat that float on the water surface. The waxy coating on the surface of their leaves make them waterproof. In these plants, stomata are found on the upper surface of the leaves.
*Aerenchyma, a special tissue present in all hydrophytes provide them flexibility and buoyancy.
*In these plants, roots are either absent or poorly developed.
What adaptations are found in mesophytes?
These are the terrestrial plants found on land such as rose, marigold, sunflower, clove, mustard, neem, mango, peepal etc. These plants need good amount of humidity in the atmosphere.Soil should be moist but it should not be too much wet or too much dry.
These plants show the following adaptations -
1.They have broad but thin leaves.
2.There are large number of stomata present on their leaves.
3.Their epidermis is covered with cuticle.
4.They have a well developed stem.
5.They have well developed roots.
6.Xylem and phloem i.e conducting tissues and mechanical tissues are fully developed.
What adaptations are found in xerophytes?
Xerophytes are the plants that are found in the desert where temperature is high and water is less. For example - cactus, acacia, opuntia, cactus etc.
These plants show the following adaptations -
1.The leaves of these plants are reduced to spines in order to prevent transpiration.
2.The stomata in these plants are either sunken or very less.
3.Cuticle in these plants is very thick to prevent the process of transpiration.
4.The function of photosynthesis is performed by the stem.
5.Some plants have fleshy stems to store water.
6.Roots are developed very well so that they can penetrate deeply inside the soil to absorb water.
What adaptations are found in plants that grow on mountains?
Some of the plants that grow on mountains are fir, pine, deodar, maple etc.
These plants show the following adaptations -
1.The trees that grow on mountains have cone shape and sloping branches so that snow and water can slide off easily.
2.The needle shape of the leaves also help in sliding down the snow easily.
3.Stems help in storing water and have a thick waxy covering to prevent water loss.
4.Trees are very tall so that they can be exposed to sunlight to carry on the process of photosynthesis.
What adaptations are found in aerial plants?
What are aerial plants?
These are the plants that are generally found in the areas above the level of ground and the underground root system is absent in these plants.
What are epiphytes?
These are the plants that grow on other plants and derive their nutrients and moisture from air, rainfall, water and debris found near the plants.
Adaptations found in aerial plants are-
1.In order to get sufficient sunlight, epiphytes grow on the upper level of the forest canopy.
2.The roots of orchids are wrapped around their host.Sometimes they are found dangling freely in search of nutrients.
3.Their leaves are thick, leathery and waxy.
Note - To check the part 2 of this chapter that includes Adaptations in Animals, click on this link : https://lessonstobelearneda-z.blogspot.com/2022/04/icsc-biology-class-6.html.To follow the chapter only just check the link given for part 2 of this chapter along with this article. No need to follow the external links given in between the chapter.
Hope this topic Adaptations in Plants and Animals for biology class 6would be helpful for you. You can also practise this topic using Worksheets for Science. Please share it and comment if you want article on any other topic.
Related Topics
Blood Circulatory System in Humans + Worksheets
Digestion of Food + Worksheets
Digestive System in Humans + Worksheets
Fertilization in Plants + Worksheets
0 Comments