http://www.scire.com/desert/student/webpages/agave.htm
1.
Agave americana
After the Agave plant makes a flower, the plant itself dies but the roots make a new agave
plant. Why do you think that this is so?
2. Why does the plant have:
a. Thick fleshy leaves for its Desert Biome?
b. Spines on the leaves of the plant?
3. This plant forms its flowers on the upper portion of the stalk, why do you think that this is
so?
http://www.desertusa.com/du_plantsurv.html
1) Desert wildflowers bloom very quickly in the spring and last for only a few weeks. They bloom
only after a heavy rainfall. Why do you think their existence comes and goes so rapidly?
2) What requirements do you think exist for seed germination?
http://images.botany.org/set-09/09-027v.jpg
The above is an example of an Xerophyte; a type of plant that is the most numerous in the desert.
Below are a list of some of the plant’s adaptations depending upon species. Write down what function
the adaptation serves for the plant:
a)
b)
c)
d)
Waxy, deep, sunken stomata
Stomata only open at night
Deep root system
Hairs on the leaf surface
http://www.saskschools.ca/~gregory/arctic/Aplants1.html
The flower on the far right is the Anemone patens and the flower on the far left is the Arctic
poppy.
1. What adaptations do you think exist for these flowers, native to the Tundra?
2. Why do these plants grow small leaves and remain low to the ground?
http://lakeeacham.com/Tropical_Rainforest-Specific_Adaptions.htm
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/77/179757232_a02a38905e.jpg
1.
The above roots are found in the rainforest, the root structure is referred to often as buttress roots and
are defined as roots that grow horizontal to the trunk of a tree and are often 15 feet above the ground.
Why are buttress roots an adaptation in the rainforest?
2. Note the Venus fly trap shown below. Why are carnivorous plants an adaptation in the rainforest?
Pitcher plants are also carnivorous, they can be 30’ tall with 12” pitchers full of insects.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flow
ering_victoria.jpg
The Victoria amazonica has leaves that can support up to 70 pounds but is so fragile that it can
be cut by a straw. How has it adapted to its surroundings?
http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/savannahP.html
The Acacia tree is adapted for the life in the Savannah. What adaptations do you think need to
exist for this tree to survive the Savannah?