Angiosperms are a group of plants that have flowers and produce seeds enclosed within a carpel. This category includes herbaceous plants, shrubs, grasses, and most trees. Angiosperms adapt to their environment over time.
The fact that angiosperms can pollinate, reproduce asexually, and disperse their seeds helped them to survive on the continent of Australia. Pollination occurs when pollen is transferred from the anther to the stigma. Asexual reproduction happens when flowers can pollinate themselves or arepollinated with pollen from another plant in their own species.
This means that asexual reproduction does not need assistance from another plant or animal in order to reproduce. The final adaptation, dispersal is when a seed is spread away from the parent plant to a new location. There are various ways in which this can be achieved; such as by animals, water or wind. Plants have adapted to their environment in different ways, for example some have adapted to living in water while others have adapted to living on land.
Some plants have also adapted to living in very dry conditions such as desert conditions. Plants that live in water are called aquatic plants. There are two main types of aquatic plants: submerged and floating. Submerged plants grow completely under water whereas floating plants only have their leaves and flowers above the surface of the water.
Plants that live on land are called terrestrial plants. There are many different types of terrestrial plants; however, they can be broadly classified into two groups: herbaceous and woody. Herbaceous plants are usually soft and green with flexible stems, whereas woody plants have hard, woody stems.
Woody plants include trees, shrubs and vines. Plants that live in very dry conditions are called xerophytes. Xerophytes are able to survive in these conditions as they have adapted in various ways. For example, some xerophytes have deep roots that help them to access water that is deep underground, while others have leaves that are covered in a waxy substance that prevents water loss.
As plants evolved from sea-dwellers to land-dwellers, they had to adapt in order to survive. This meant developing specialized tissues and organs that could help them transport water, prevent water loss, and reproduce in a dry environment. These adaptations became the foundation of modern plant anatomy.
Plants are unique in their ability to produce their own food through photosynthesis. This process begins when sunlight strikes the leaves of a plant, providing the energy needed to convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and glucose. The glucose is then used by plants for energy, to build new tissue, or to store for later use. Plants also need to obtain minerals from the soil in order to grow properly. They do this through their roots, which absorb water and minerals from the soil and transport them upward to the rest of the plant.
The majority of plants are capable of reproducing on their own, without any assistance from animals or other organisms. Plants produce flowers in order to reproduce, and the flowers are often brightly colored and have a sweet scent in order to attract pollinators. Once a flower is pollinated, the plant produces fruit that contains seeds. The fruit protects the seeds and helps with dispersal, or spreading the plants to new areas.
Plants have many different adaptations that allow them to survive in different environments. Some plants are adapted to living in very dry conditions, such as cacti, which have thick fleshy leaves that store water. Others, like mosses, can live in very wet conditions where most other plants would quickly die. Still others, like pine trees, are adapted to living in cold climates where it is difficult for other plants to survive.
Various organisms solved these problems in different ways, resulting in physical differences between tissues and chemical alterations that increased the genetic variation of plant species. To stop dehydration in their new, arid habitat, early plants developed adaptations. The first plants to do this were bryophytes–plants without vascular systems.
Bryophytes, such as mosses and liverworts, were small and grew close to the ground where it was more humid. They had a primitive water-conducting system made up of pores that allowed some water to enter the plant, but not enough to dessicate it. The cuticle, a waxy layer on the surface of leaves and stems, also prevented water loss by reducing evaporation. Vascular plants, which include all seed plants (angiosperms and gymnosperms), ferns, horsetails, and clubmosses, have a more complex tissue system for transport of water and nutrients. In these plants, water moves from the roots to the leaves through xylem tissue.
Phloem tissue moves nutrients from the leaves to other parts of the plant. The cuticle is also present in these plants, but stomata, tiny pores on the leaf surface, allow water vapor and carbon dioxide to enter and exit the leaf. Plants can open and close their stomata to regulate water loss, and many plants also have hairs on their leaves that help to reduce evaporation by trapping a layer of humid air next to the leaf surface.
In addition to adaptations that prevent water loss, plants also had to develop ways to deal with lower levels of sunlight. The first land plants were probably green because they needed chlorophyll to conduct photosynthesis, but as light levels decreased, some plants evolvedcolorful pigments that absorb light more efficiently. These pigments, called carotenoids, are responsible for the yellow, orange, and red colors of many flowers and fruits. Plants also began to grow taller in order to compete for sunlight, and some plants developed special structures, such as leaves that reflect light or have a glossy surface, to maximize their exposure to sunlight.
Plants also had to adapt to the new soil conditions on land. Soil is a very different environment from water, and it contains a great deal of organic matter that can be used by plants for food. However, soil also contains harmful bacteria and fungi that can cause disease. To protect themselves from these pathogens, plants developed tough cell walls made of cellulose, as well as chemicals that kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria and fungi. Plants also developed a variety of mechanisms for dispersing their seeds, which allows them to colonize new areas of land.
Plants have adapted to life on land in a variety of ways, and these adaptations have allowed them to become one of the most successful groups of organisms on Earth. Plants now play a vital role in all terrestrial ecosystems, and they provide us with food, fuel, and shelter. As we continue to learn more about plants, we are discovering new ways in which they have adapted to their environment, and new ways in which we can use these adaptations to our benefit.
Angiosperms are the largest group of plants, with more than 250,000 species worldwide.
