Aquatic & herbaceous plants

 

Aquatic plants

Plant that grow in water

PLANTS FIRST GREW IN WATER, and slowly evolved as we see them growing on land. Over the time, than many new aquatic plants, like water lilies, water hyacinths and grass-like reeds, rushes and papyrus have bloomed in water.

Floating plants

Plant like water lily and hyacinth float on the surface of water. The leaves that float are attracted to long, flexible stalks whose roots are firmly fixed in the mud of the river bed however, floating plants cannot live in fast-flowing water.

Floating plants do not sink

Some floating plants have air sacks in their stems and leaves. Leaves of some other plants, like the water lily, turn up at the ends and float like boats on the surface of water.

World's biggest water plants

The world's biggest water plants is the giant lily of the Amazon in south America with floating leaves that are 2 m wide and can bear the weight of the child.

Plants pharaohs used to write on

The ancient pharaohs used paper made from the pith of papyrus stems for writing. The papyrus, a gient reed that grows 3 m tall along the River Nile, was used for making paper by the Egiptians 5,000 years ago. The word paper is made from wood pulp

Water hyacinths - a nuisance

The fast growth of the beautiful hyacinth flower chokes waterway and blocks the path of boats. So, they are considered a nuisance

Life in water

Slow-moving rivers and shallows in lakes have all kinds of water plants of them. Most of the plants are connected to the river bed, but a few get their nutrients from the water. Some plants are inside the water while others float on the surface. Emergent are plants like rushes and reeds as they grow out of water.

Aquatic plants and river current

Water plants have firm roots to save themselves from strong currents. Their leaves are fanwort that do not resist water current. The river water current. The river water crowfoot plant has streamlined leaves to survive in fast-flowing streams.

Bug-eating water plants

The bladderwort plant that grows in swamps has under water bladders on itsw stem. These open up when any insect like a water-flea comes near these bladders, the bladder open up and sucks in the insect with the flowing water.

Water plants in some lake

The chemical composition of the water is not the same for all the lakes. So, all lakes cannot have plant have them. Some lake have water darning from lime-rich soils and so are rich in plant life. The lakes near acid soil do not have plants.

Herbaceous plants

Grassland - all grass

IN THE FIRST LOOK, grassland look as vast lawn-mile of green grass. But in fact there are many types of grass, like tussock grass, mar ram grass, meadow grass, blue grass and many more, and also many types of herbs and flowers.

Rokerboom

In topical grasslands like the veld of south Africa, where is there is little water; the rokerboom trees has huge swollen trunk that stores water for the tree for its use in dry periods.

South American pampas

The pampas stretches across Argentina, Uruguay and southeastern brazil, forming the largest area of temperate grassland in the southern hemisphere. Many parts of the pampas are dominated by tussock grasses like those seen in the foreground.