Name: ______Date: ______
Activity:Plants: Adaptations for Life on Land
Goal: To observe and describe the characteristics of plants that have
helped them adapt to life on land.
Background Information: The fossil record shows that early plants were much like multi-cellular algae - like spirogyra. However, unlike algae, most plants live on land. How is living on land different from living in water? Imagine multi-cellular green algae floating in the ocean. Their bodies are held up toward the sunlight by the water around them. The algae obtain water and other materials directly from their watery surroundings.
Now imagine the same green algae living on land. Would the algae-like primitive plants be able to stand upright? Could they absorb water and other materials from their surroundings? For plants to survive on land, they must have ways to obtain water and other materials from their surroundings, retain water so they don’t dry out, transport materials throughout their bodies, support themselves upright, and reproduce sexually.
An adaptation is any characteristic that improves chances of an organism’s survival in a specific environment. Members of the plant kingdom exhibit a wide variety of adaptations, which allow them to thrive in many different, sometimes harsh, environments. In this activity you will visit several stations – each of which has one or more plants and additional materials that will engage you in discovering specific plant adaptations.
Procedure: Rotate through the various stations and complete the indicated task. Be sure to write using complete statements and to color you illustrations.
Station 1. Obtaining Water and Other Materials: Parts of a Plant
Obtaining water is easy for algae because water surrounds them. To live on land, though, plants need adaptations for obtaining water and nutrients from the soil.
- Examine the plant on display at Station 1.
- The roots allow this plant to get water and other materials such as minerals from the soil.
- Draw a picture of the entire plant.
- Label a root, stem, and leaf.
Station 2. Regulating Water Loss
Stomata with Guard Cells 1
Stomata with Guard Cells 2
A plant needs to transport water and other materials from one part to another. In general, water is taken up by the roots and moved from cell to cell up the stem and into the leaves. Excess water, as well as gases, are released through openings on the leaves called stomata. The opening and closing of the stomata to let water out or keep it in is controlled by oval guard cells that surround the stomata.
- Use a microscope to examine the stomata and guard cells of a leaf.
- Draw and label at least two stomata with guard cells.
______X
Station 3. Retaining Water: Plant Cuticle
Land plants can dry out. Because there is more water in plant cells than in air, water evaporates into the air. Plants need adaptations to reduce water loss to the air. One common adaptation is a waxy, waterproof layer called the cuticle that covers the leaves of most plants.
- Examine the leaves on display at Station 3.
- Using a penny, gently scrape off some of the cuticle material on the leaf. Notice the water that comes out of the leaf when the cuticle is removed.
- Explain how the cuticle might keep water from evaporating from the leaf into the air?
Station 4. Another Way to Retain Water: Cacti Adaptations
Land plants can dry out. Because there is more water in plant cells than in air, water evaporates into the air. Plants that live in the desert have additional strategies for retaining water. One strategy is to have tiny, needle-like leaves so that water loss can’t occur. Another way is to have thick, fleshy leaves that hold onto water like a sponge.
- Examine the cactus and succulent plant.
- Draw a picture of each.
- Caption each plant’s picture with a description of its leaves and how they prevent water loss.
Station 5. Getting Enough Sunlight
Plants that live on the dimly lit rainforest floor shaded by tall trees have at least two adaptations for absorbing as much light as possible.
- Examine the tropical plant. Notice that it has unusually large leaves and that the undersides of the leaves are dark in color.
- Draw a picture of the plant.
- Explain how these two features of tropical plants allow them to capture and keep light in the dimmest conditions.
Station 6. Strategies for Reproduction
Non-vascular plants need to live in moist environments so their egg and sperm cells can come together for fertilization. Land plants that don’t live in especially moist areas need wind or insects to transport the male reproductive cells to the female cells. Flowers have a variety of features to lure insects to them so that sperm cells can fertilize egg cells.
- Examine the flower of a daisy, Daisy. Its strategy is to present a target pattern to get noticed by insects that might be nearby.
- Draw a sketch of the daisy pattern and caption your drawing.
Station 7. Getting Enough Nitrogen
Plants that grow in soil that is low in nitrogen, such as in bogs, need to obtain nitrogen from another source. Insect bodies contain nitrogen.
- Examine at least one type of carnivorous plant.Venus Fly Trap or Pitcher Plant
- Draw and caption a picture of the structure that captures and digests small animals.
Notes:
Station 1: Plant in water with roots exposed
Station 2: Stomata with guard cells slides
Station 3: Cabbage leaves or lipstick plant
Station 4: Cacti
Station 5: Plants with large leaves; underside of leaf has red coloring
Station 6: daises and /or orchids
Station 7; Carnivorous plants (Venus Fly-traps and /or Pitcher plants)