Plants have existed on Earth for millions of years. They were around before the dinosaurs and continued to live long after they died. There are about 300,000 species of plants on Earth, and probably hundreds more that have never been discovered. How have plants managed to survive on Earth for so long? Plants owe their longevity to a set of unique and extraordinary adaptations.
There are three things that every plant needs in order to survive: water, sunlight and carbon dioxide. Plants around the world have found incredible ways of obtaining all three, even in the most remote places on Earth.
This mangrove lives in salt water. Normally, salt water is a hostile environment for plants, since all plants need fresh water to live. But the mangrove tree has found a special way of living here. Its roots are able to filter out the salt from the water! That way, the tree can get the water it needs without salt drying it up.
Many plants grow in dense forests where they must compete for sunlight and nutrients. Ivies and other creepers have found a way to beat the others in the race. By growing quickly and firmly along the side of a larger plant, these ivies almost look like they are crawling to the top. There, they are able to find sunlight and grow.
Some plants cannot get all the nutrients they need from the soil around them. Instead, they have found ingenious ways to get the vitamins and minerals they need. The Venus flytrap is one of the most famous carnivorous plants. It grows in soil that is lacking in nitrogen. In order to get the nitrogen it needs, it traps insects and absorbs the nitrogen from the insect's body. Messy, but effective!
Once plants are able to grow, the next most important thing is to make sure they can spread their seeds and reproduce. Plants are obviously successful at reproducing - that's how they have survived for so long! Many plants have unique adaptations that help them spread their seeds.
Plants want to spread their seeds far away from them so that the new plants do not compete for resources with their parent. Plants have many different ways of moving their seeds. The Javan cucumber plant gives its seeds wings. These wings, up to 13cm wide, carry the light seeds away from the trees when the wind blows, and deposit them somewhere new for a new tree to grow.
It is their many adaptations that allow plants to survive so well and for so long. If you investigate, you will find all kinds of amazing adaptations in the plants around us.
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