How do plants adapt to their environment?
March 20th, 2010 | 
Author: Im doing a project, and I need to know how plants adapt to the environment that they are in. I need some detail if possible please. Im not some idiot who knows nothing about Geography, but I just need different ideas ASAP.
Thanks so much
Lily x
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In general, say a plant produces a hundred seeds each season. Some of these may grow better in dry soil while others like moisture. Some will prefer direct sunlight while others produce shade. Tall versus short. Many other small differences. As the climate shifts over time some seeds will be more likely to survive in the changed environment, and some less likely.
With a sudden large change almost the whole population will die out, except for a few that have rare traits that cause them to do better in the new environment. A complete change of color for example, or resistance to a parasite or disease.
There are famous studies of moth evolution in England in the mid 1800′s. The Peppered moth has two varities – a light and a dark. As England came into the industrial revolution and was using more and more carbon based energy, more soot was produced. As the soot from the burning of fossil fuels was deposited on building, trees, and various areas, the dark moth was ‘selected’ and they flourished. This was because they could blend into the darker surroundings better than a light moth could. Conversly, when pollution controls were adopted in England, the amount of soot deposits was reduced and the light moth made a comeback. Some of this study has been question, but the fact of the matter remains that the dark moths flourished in sooty areas and the light moths flourished in cleaner areas. To me, this is still a good example of how an animal adapts to his environment.
For plants, a cactus hold water. It has to because in the desert, they rarely see water, so it has to store what it finds.
Some plants have brightly coloured flowers to attract bees, birds, and butterflies – this helps with cross pollination and the spreading of seeds so that they can reproduce.
A dandelion has a massive root system that makes removal of the entire plant very difficult. If even a small part of root is left, they can regrow. This is an adaptation to being pulled, either by humans or animals.