Question

1. Through this project, you may have noticed a wide variety of phenological adaptations that different species of trees exhibit. For example, some trees may have developed leaves before flowers, while others may have immediately produced flowers when the spring arrives with their leaves emerging at a later time.

Answer each of the following questions; (2pts.)

• Explain the adaptive significance of developing leaves before flowers.

• Describe the source of sugars when trees produce flowers before the emergence of leaves.

Answer 1

The adaptive significance of developing leaves before flowers is that leaves are the main systems which carry out the important process of survival known as photosynthesis.

Pigments present in leaves known as chlorophyll are responsible for trapping light energy and then this is converted into food for plants in the process of photosynthesis. So leaves are the house forming part of the plant which runs other important functions as well.

Leaves also protect the stem, buds ,flowers etc from external environmental stress factors as well.

Ans- The source of sugar when trees produce flowers before the emergence of leaves is undergroundstem, roots , tubers , bulbs etc. In place of leaves, which makes food for whole plant, these structures help when there is no leaves. This is because food or sugar is being stored in these plants at areas other than leaves. These other storage bodies in plants help the plants to grow in the absence of leaves.

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