Name: Darrien Georgia Lab day: Tuesday
Exercise 9
Plant Adaptations Lamberton conservatory

Introduction Plants have many different types of adaptations which allow them to survive in many different ecosystems including ones which get less than 25 cm of rain a year and ones which get over 4.5 m of rain a year! Plants must be adapted to be able to gather the materials needed for photosynthesis- CO2, water and sunlight. There are many different ways that plants have solved these problems. The Lamberton Conservatory, located in the Highland Park area of Rochester, houses a variety of seasonal plants, and plants adapted for special environments. Epiphytes, orchids, ferns, and exotic plants grow in the SW room of the actual greenhouse. The tropical forest room and the desert environment room display plants which have specialized for these climatic areas. We won’t see every habitat of the world, but we will see a variety of plants that are from a variety of ecosystems. We will be given a 30 - 45 min. tour of the conservatory then you will be allowed to spend 30 - 45 minutes browsing through the rooms in order to answer the questions on this worksheet. You may have to research the answers to some of the questions.

Purpose 1. To introduce students to the beauty and fascination of plants in their "natural" environment. 2. To help develop more highly refined observation skills 3. To experience the joy of learning about the most abundant biological organisms in the environment. 4. To emphasize plant adaptations to various environments. Seasonal Room 1. Name two seasonal plants on display in the "seasonal" room. (2 points)
1. Chrysanthemums
2. Kale

2. Where are these plants native to? When do they bloom in their native habitat? (2 points)
Mums are native to East Asia and Kale is native to the mediterranean and Indonesia. Mums bloom during the fall, and Kale blooms during cold weather. When the weather starts to get warmer, that's when Kale flowers.

3. What environmental cues cause them to bloom now? (2 points)
Manipulation is what causes these plants to bloom now. Manipulation can be acheived by covering the greenhouse with a tarp to trick the plants into thinking that it is fall by giving the illusion of shorter days. 4. Why might it be an advantage/adaptation to bloom at this time of year in their native habitat? (2 points)
It would be an advantage for Mums and Kale to bloom at this time of year in their native habitat because they bloom in colder weather.

Exotics, Orchids and Ferns room

1. Describe the ecosystem where most of these plants live. (1 point)
The majority of the plants in this room grow in an ecosystem with no dirt or nutrients. They also grow in elevated areas.

2. What is an epiphyte? How is it different from a parasite? (2 points)
An epihyte is a plant that "lives in the air." It differs from a parasite because it does not benefit or take from its host.

3. Name 3 plants in this room that are epiphytes and give examples of the adaptations that have to be epiphytes. (6 points- 1 for each plant, 1 for each adaptation)
-Orchids- their 'cup-like' leaves allow water to flow right to the center of the plant.
-Spanish moss- the white scales on the plant absorb water from the air.
-Blushing Bromeliad- their long, tapered leaves catch rain water and guide it to the center of the plant.

4. Name and describe two plants which reproduce by means other than flowering. What are some advantages of asexual reproduction over sexual reproduction?(6 points)
-Algae- many algae can reproduce sexually and asexually. This is an advantage because if a plant cannot find a mate to reproduce sexually with, they can just reproduce themselves.
-Moss- When the gametes in moss are matured, the plant needs water in order for fertilization to take place. An advantage to this is that the dew that develops on the plant in the morning is enough to start fertilizing.

Tropical forest room
1. Describe how the forest room feels in terms of temperature and humidity. What kinds of adaptations do these plants have to allow them to live in these climates? (2 points)
The tropical forest room was very hot and humid, and moist.

2. Name and describe two tropical forest plants which have specialized stems or leaves. (4 points- 1 for each plant, 1 for each specialization) -Pitcher plant- Pitcher plants have cup like leaves that create an enzyme that attracts bugs. The downward facing hairs in the leaves prevent the bugs from escaping the leaf, and breaking down the bug with more enzymes is how the plant gets its nutrients.

3. How do many of these plants reproduce? (1 point)
Many tropical forest plants reproduce by flowering and pollination, or vegetation reproduction.

Desert room
In the desert room you will find many modifications to plants. These enable the plants there to survive under very dry and hot conditions.

1. Describe how the desert room feels in terms of temperature and humidity. (2 points)
The desert room was colder and drier compared to the other rooms.

2. Describe the three specific plants groups listed below, which are abundant in the desert room. Think about size, shape, color, etc. (6 points- 3 for each group)
Euphorbias- no areoles, sap is milky white and sticky.
Cacti- Cacti flower at night, white spines borne on the areoles, sap is clear and watery.

3. Comment on their differences and similarities (6 points- 3 for similarities, 3 for differences)
A lot of the cacti contained pin-like needles poking out of them, while euphorbias contained mostly large leaves. Both plants were green, but the cacti tended to be a lot lighter. Euphorbias were generally bigger in size because of their leaves, and a lot of cacti were small.

4. Name and describe two ways desert plants have leaves which are adapted to their climates. (4 points)
Desert plants have thickened leaves to protect them from the desert heat and sun. These leaves also have channels that catch water and bring it directly to the plant for storing.

5. Name and describe three specific specializations of stems that these desert plants have. (6 points)

6. Compare and contrast desert plants with the plants of the tropical forest room- size, shape, leaves, stems, reproduction, etc. (4 points)
The plants in the desert were a lot smaller compared to the plants in the tropical forest room. The tropical forest room also contained plants with a wide variety of color, while the desert room was all green.

Economic plants room
1. List 3 plants which are of economic value which are displayed in the northeast corner room. (3 points) 1. Orange plant 2. Guava plant 3. Loquat 2. How have these plants been modified by humans to adapt them to our needs? (3 points)
Because these plants bear fruit, they have been dwarfed so picking the fruit is easier. They have also been treated with chemicals to improve the look and taste of the fruit.

· Pick TWO of the plants that at least slightly interested you today and research it:
Pink Powderpuff
a. Surinamese Stickpea
b. Plants of the Fabaceae family
c. Southern Florida
d.
e. Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calliandra_surinamensis

Brazilian Tree philodendron
a. Philodendron bipinnatifidum
b. Plants of the Araceae family
c. Tropical Americas and West Indies
d. When the plants becomes nutrient deprived, it will send its aerial roots downward to receive nutrients from the soil.
e. Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philodendron