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ANIMALS AND PLANTS PROTECT THEMSELVES :

PLANTS PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS :

1.  Besides protecting themselves from danger and enemies, plants also need to adapt themselves to extreme weather conditions.
2.  Some of these weather conditions include :

• hot and dry weather
• strong winds
• extremely cold weather  

HOT AND DRY WEATHER :

1.  Plants need to protect themselves from losing too much water when the weather is dry and hot.
2.  Most plants lose water from their leaves.
3.  There are many ways plants can prevent too much water from being lost.

Plants have special characteristics to protect themselves from hot and dry weather such as :

1.   Curl their leaves :

• some plants curl their leaves on hot days.
• banana plant, maize plant and lallang are examples of plants that curl their leaves on hot days. 

2.   Small leaves and needle-shaped leaves :

• some plants have small leaves or needle-shaped leaves.
• these leaf shapes reduce the amount of water lost to the surroundings.
• conifer, cactus and tea shrub are examples of plants that have small leaves or needle-shaped leaves.

3.   Waxy and waterproof leaves :

• some plants have thick, waxy and waterproof leaves.
• yam, pandan, hibiscus and banana plants are examples of plants that waxy leaves.

4.   Store water  :

• some plants can store water in their stem, leaves and roots.
• cactus, aloe vera, watermelon and turnip plants are examples of plants that can store water in their stem, leaves and roots.
• cactus stores water in its stem.
• aloe vera plant stores water in its leaves.
• watermelon plant stores water in its fruit.
• turnip plant stores water in its roots.
• the cactus is a very special plant because it can grow in hot and dry desert, has small, tiny and needle-like spines to reduce water loss from the leaves, have fat barrel-lik stems to store large volumes of water and roots are long and grow deep in the sand to search for water.

5.   Shed their leaves:

• some trees shed their leaves when the weather is very dry.
• with fewer leaves, the trees loose less water.
• rubber and oak trees are examples of trees that shed their leaves when it is dry.

6.   Leaves drop :

• some plants drop their leaves during hot weather.
• rubber trees and bougainvillea plants are examples of plants that drop their leaves during hot weather.

7.   Leaves have hairs :

• some leaves of plants have hairs on them.
• watermelon plant and pumpkin plant are examples of plants that have hairs on their leaves.