Plant Survival [antikvár]

The worst part of being a plant is that if you don't like the place where you were born, you can't pick up and move. With roots firmly anchored to the ground, a plant is stuck in one location for life, which may be less than a year but could be for centuries. Some bristlecone pine and giant sequoia trees are still standing where they began to grow, three to four thousand years ago. Compared with animals, plants must be much more ready to cope with constant changes in their environment if they are to survive. Animals can escape to shelter themselves from strong winds, heavy rains, cold winter nights, or the heat of the summer sun. If other creatures threaten to attack, animals can run, swim, or fly to safety. Not so with plants. They must have ways to prevent destruction by hungry insects and larger animals. And they have no choice but to protect themselves against the most harmful forces of the climate, including sudden shifts in weather that occur with each passing day and more gradual changes as one season blends into the next. When animals need food they go searching for it. Most