All plants have features (adaptations)
which help them to survive and reproduce
in the places where they live (their habitat)
Trees lose water through
their leaves.
In winter it can be very cold and
it’s more difficult for trees to get
water from the soil.
To save water trees like this
Beech shed their leaves and
rest during the winter.
Plants need light to make
their food.
In summer the beech
tree arranges its leaves
so that they receive as
much light as possible.
In summer Beech trees with all their leaves make the woodland very dark.
The Bluebell gets plenty of
light by growing and flowering
in early summer before the
Beech leaves are fully formed.
Food stored
in its
underground
bulb helps it
to grow
quickly in the
spring.
Plants which live amongst
tall plants often climb up
to reach the light.
Honeysuckle
climbs by twining
its stems around
the twigs and
branches of other
plants.
Scent and colour help to
attract pollinating insects.
The creamy coloured flowers and strong scent of the Honeysuckle attract
dusk-flying moths which pollinate the flowers.
This Wild Clematis
is scrambling over
other plants in the
hedgerow using its
leaf stalks to cling
to them.
The fruits of the Wild Clematis have feathery tails.
These parachutes help the tiny fruits to float through the air
spreading the seeds away from the parent plant.
Ivy uses special roots on its
stems to cling to the tree as
it climbs.
Developing roots on an
Ivy stem.
Ivy fruits ripen in mid winter when food for birds is scarce. This makes it
more likely that its fruits will be eaten and its seeds dispersed.
Growing along hedgerows and amongst tall grasses, Bush Vetch climbs up
to the light using leaf tendrils.
Bramble uses its
backward-pointing
prickles to scramble over
other plants.
Being prickly also helps to
protect a plant from being
eaten by animals.
Hawthorn has long sharp
thorns which help to
protect it from being
eaten by animals such as
cows and deer.
Bright red is a colour
which birds see really
well.
Hawthorn berries are
bright red, which
helps to make sure
that birds find them
and disperse the
seeds in their
droppings.
A Blackbird eating
Hawthorn berries.
Leaves at the bottom of the
tree are more likely to be eaten
and are often more prickly.
Holly leaves have prickles which help
to protect them.
The bright red Holly
berries are easily found
by birds which eat
them and help to
disperse the seeds.
Sharp spines
on the leaves
help to
protect this
Dwarf Thistle
plant from
grazing
animals.
The flowers are also protected because they have very
short stems and sit amongst the prickly leaves.
Hairs, strong smells and an unpleasant taste can put off grazing animals.
Ground Ivy has lots of hairs and a strong smelling oil in its leaves.
Rabbits don’t like it.
Plants need mineral salts.
Peat bogs have
soils low in
mineral
nutrients.
Carnivorous
plants can get
extra mineral
nutrients by
catching small
animals
This Sundew has caught a damselfly in its sticky leaves.
Butterwort traps small
insects on its very sticky
leaves.
Carnivorous plants often
have flowers with long
stalks. This helps to
protect pollinating insects
from being trapped.
The pitchers on this
Trumpet Pitcher Plant
are formed by the
leaves.
This is another
carnivorous plant
Insects are attracted to the
pitcher by nectar and are
trapped when they fall in.
The large round leaves of White Water Lily have their stalk
attached to the middle. This helps to keep the leaf floating flat
on the water surface.
The stalk is
long enough to
keep the leaf
on the surface
when water
currents move
the leaf around.
Underwater, finely divided leaves are more efficient for photosynthesis
and respiration.
This Watercrowfoot has both
floating leaves
and finely divided
underwater
leaves.
The whole Frogbit plant floats on
the water surface.
Here, it is growing amongst the
small floating plants of Duckweed.
Frogbit survives the cold
winter months by
producing special winter
buds which sink to the
bottom of the pond and
grow again the following
spring.
Winter buds of Frogbit
In the natural world there is a
struggle for life as plants and
animals compete with each other.
Those best adapted to the habitat
are most likely to survive.
Understanding this (natural
selection) was important to Darwin
in forming his theory of Evolution