Tag: aquatic plant adaptations

Xerophytes are the plants that has adapted to survive in an environment with little liquid water, such as a desert or an ice- or snow-covered region in the Alps and Arctic regions. Succulents plants stores water. They have mucilage to retain water. Stomata are sunken and usually open only during nights. 

Typical plants that are found on the forest floor include a variety of ferns, mangrove trees, and vines. The canopy of trees spread their leaves to attract as much sunlight. Though the forest floor is the principal sites of decomposition, there is a stiff competition for sunlight and nutrients. The plants that occupy the forest floor are ones that require low light as they are adapted to grow under conditions of low light availability and have large dark  green leaves to absorb as much sunlight.

Xerophytes are plants of dry habitats, which are faced with the problem of more water loss through transpiration than is water available from soil, e.g., Acacia, Casuarina etc.
In these plants leaves or leaflets are often small, vertical, thick and leathery. Cuticle is thick and waxy. Stomata are sunken and restricted to lower surface of leaf.

• The root cap protects the growing tip of roots from soil and hard rock surface. 
• As hydrophytes are generally aquatic plants, no such protection is needed for their roots. 
• As a result of which root cap is absent in hydrophytes.
• In given options all are aquatic plants but utricularia, hydrilla and Limnophylla are rooted submerged plants there root are present in soil.
• Eichhornia is free floating aquatic plant and there root arr floating in water so they don't have the need of root cap they have root pockets.
• Option B is correct here.

Hydrophytes are water loving plants. Stomata are absent in submerged hydrophytic plants. But floating hydrophytes have stomata on upper surface. e.g., lotus. Exchange of gases occurs through general surface in submerged hydrophytes. Emergent hydrophytes possess special air storage parenchyma called aerenchyma. It makes their different parts light, spongy and flexible. It can also help in exchange of gases with the atmosphere through stomata present in emergent regions. Roots of hydrophytes are poorly developed or completely absent in Wolffia. 

Xerophytes are the plants of dry habitats, where the environment favours higher rate of transpiration than the rate of absorption. Xerophytes have various adaptations to check water loss and increase water absorption.

In hydrophytes, generally xylem is poorly developed. Tracheids are developed but vessels are completely absent. Hydrophytes possess special air storage parenchyma called aerenchyma. Cuticle is poorly developed.

Hydrophytes possess special air storage parenchyma tissue, called as aerenchyma. It makes different parts of hydrophytes, light, spongy and flexible. It makes oxygen produced during photosynthesis, available to roots and other non photosynthetic regions. It can also help in exchange of gases with the atmosphere through stomata present in emerged regions of plants. 

Exchange of gases occurs through general surface in submerged hydrophytes. 

• Minerals crystals are found in plant cell walls in the form of calcium oxalate, carbonate or silica.
• Calcium oxalate occurs in the form of a mass of crystals around a cellulosic core in few plants.
  
• Crystal sand is the calcium oxalate deposition in cells in the form of powdery mass and is seen in Atropa.
• So, the correct answer is 'Calcium oxalate'.