Plants in Place

Plant adaptations allow them to cope with dry, wet, hot and cold conditions.

How it works

Insert the plant tokens into the matching landscape pots, then pull a bar to check your plant quiz answers.

Things to try or ask around the exhibit

Why do plants look so different?

Background

Plants have very slowly evolved over millions of years, so that plants living in widely different environments tend to have adaptations that allow them to survive in very dry, wet, hot, cold, windy or shady environments.

Finding the science in your world

Desert plants such as the cactus have fleshy stems to store water and a thick, waxy cuticle to stop too much water evaporating away.

Rainforest plants have plenty of water, but struggle to get enough sunlight.

Ferns and palms near the rainforest floor have large-area leaves to capture as much sunlight as possible.

Mangrove trees grow in mud, and they can be underwater or dried out with the changing tide. Their prop roots grow out of the mud to avoid suffocation’ and get rid of excess salt.