Moisture characteristics
Plants can be divided into two categories: aquatic plants and terrestrial plants. Aquatic plants basically cannot survive without water; terrestrial plants basically survive without water.
Of course, like amphibians , there are also amphibious species in plants. They can grow in water, but they cannot grow in water for a long time; nor can they grow on dry land for a long time.
1. Aquatic plants
all grow in water. They do not grow well in dry land and cannot survive without water for a long time. Most of them are perennial plants with perennial roots or bulbs and underground rhizomes, and many of them are important garden ornamentals. Plant . According to their growth habits, they can be divided into the following five categories:
1. Shallow water type
Shallow water type, or marsh type, requires the water depth not to exceed 0.5m. It can be short of water for a short time without dying, but it can be short of water for a long time (30 days). Water will cause withering or death, such as Acorus , water iris, Alisma , Arrowroot , cattail, Umbrella , Amaranth, Acorus , watercress, etc.
Irises
2. Emergent species
require the water depth not to exceed 1.5m. Their branches and leaves grow out of the water, and they bloom and bear fruit on the water, such as lotus roots and cattails. mangrove can survive in sea water and has no effect on the rise and fall of tides.
Lotus
3. Submerged plants
Submerged plants can grow regardless of the depth of the water, but they mainly grow in water more than 1.5m deep. They can also survive in the slow flow of flowing water. Their roots are at the bottom of the water, and their branches and leaves can It floats with the water and can float a little on the water surface when the water is shallow. Such as hornwort , Vallisneria , Trichosanthes algae, etc.
Horntail algae
4. Floating water species
are rooted in the bottom of the water, while leaves and flowers float on the water surface. The water level is mostly deep, usually around 2m, and generally not more than 3m, such as water lily , king lotus , Gorgon fruit , water chestnut wait.
water lilies
5. Floating species
can float and grow in the water. The roots absorb nutrients from the water and can move and drift at any time, such as red root, green apple, algae, Sophora apple, Eichhornia , etc. Water chestnut can also be used. Grows floating in deep water.
Eichhornia
2. Most terrestrial plants
are born on land, but due to different degrees of water preference, they can be divided into the following three categories:
(1) Hygrophytes
They need to grow in humid environments and in dry environments Poor growth or even failure to grow or short-term death. This type of plants can be divided into two types: positive and negative:
1. Positive hygrophytes
This type of plant requires high soil moisture and even short-term flooding, but it also requires sufficient sunlight and cannot tolerate shade.
Such as bermudagrass, lobelia , sedge , aquatic iris, Arundo , phragmites, reed, Equisetum , cypress , pond fir , water pine , metasequoia , water cypress branch, marsh willow , mugwort , alder , Liaodong alder, maple poplar , green money willow , diamond willow, blue poplar , diamond poplar , water Polygonum et al.
Among them, trees mostly have plate-shaped roots and knee roots, while herbaceous plants mostly have no root hairs and have well-developed tap roots with aeration tissue.
Metasequoia
2. Negative hygrophytes
These plants grow in a humid environment for a long time. They mostly grow at the bottom of river valleys or deep in dense forests where there is insufficient light and high humidity, thus forming shaded and moist characteristics. The environment will not grow well, such as most ferns, Alocasia , Aroid star , Dieffenbachia , Monstera deliciosa , begonias, Acanthopanax, peach coral, Japanese coral, etc.
Begonia
(2) Mesophytes
Most of the plants are mesophytes, because wet and dry places on the earth still account for a minority.However, mesophytes can also be strictly divided into different types such as wet mesophytes, mesophytes and xerophytes. They all require an environment that is neither too dry nor too humid.
Such as weeping willow, maple poplar, ash, Chinese tallow tree , etc. can tolerate water and moisture and grow well under humid conditions, but they can also tolerate and grow normally under drier conditions. They are classified as hygrophytes.
Spruce , Platycladus , sand cypress, elm, jujube , etc., have strong drought tolerance, but long-term soil drought will also cause adverse reactions, such as withering, wilting and falling leaves, or even death due to excessive moisture. Or if water accumulates at the roots, they will also be uncomfortable. This type should be classified as xerophytic. Most should be mesozoic.
Chinese tallow tree
(3) Xerophytic plants
grow in places where the annual precipitation is less than 300mm, or where although the precipitation is high, the atmosphere is dry and it is difficult to store water in the roots, most of them are xerophytic plants.
Xerophytic plants often have some morphological characteristics that can be observed. In order to avoid excessive loss of water in the body, the area of their leaves becomes smaller, and even evolves into spiny and scaly shapes, such as Tamarix , Stipa , Ephedra, Elaeagnus , etc.;
or the leaves are covered with hairs, pubes or other scales to prevent and reduce evaporation, such as Elaeagnus , Ningtiao, Camel Artemisia , etc.; or in drought The leaves fall off during the wet period, and the leaves regenerate during the wet period, and the branches can produce chlorophyll and continue to carry out photosynthesis to accumulate nutrients,
tamarisk
such as Queen of the Andes, Overlord Whip , cacti, chickpea , bachelor tree , etc.; Or the root system is extremely developed and can absorb water from a deeper or wider soil layer. For example, camel thorn can absorb water from 10m below the ground, and the root system of torch tree can be distributed as far as 10m in diameter, absorbing water 40cm deep on the surface.
There are also some plants whose stems and leaves have water storage tissues, which make them appear thick, thick, and huge. For example, some plants of Crassulaceae , Liliaceae , Euphorbiaceae , Cactaceae , they use Stems and leaves store water.
Queen of the Andes
Click below ↓↓↓ to read more articles by the author
Do you understand the three major schools of gardening in the world?
