Table of Contents
Why do plants have different size?
Previously, the textbook theory explained leaf size variability in terms of available water and the risk of overheating. In those places with high rainfall, such as in the tropics, leaves grow larger while small-leaved plants flourish in arid and high altitude environments.
Why are some leaves bigger than others?
Past researchers suggested that water availability and risk of overheating determines leaf size. This model helped explain why the leaves of desert plants were tiny (they can’t afford to “sweat” out their precious water) and the leaves of plants in cool, shady spots often grow large.
What factors affect leaf size?
The textbooks say it’s a balance between water availability and overheating. But new research, published today in Science, has found it’s not that simple. Actually, in much of the world the key limiting factor for leaf size is night temperature and the risk of frost damage to leaves.
How do leaves differ in size and shape?
Smaller trees have rounder flat edges while taller plants have narrower leaves. If a tree has bigger leaves then the leaves have a problem of tearing in winds. The way a leaf gets food, water and energy from the environment impacts the final shape of the leaf. …
How do leaves differ from each other?
Explanation: The leaves are different for different plants. They are different from the leaves of other by shape ,texture, margins base,tips, veins, forms and types,and several other characters by which they are identified.
How do leaves look different from other leaves?
Although they have the same job, one leaf can look completely different from another. Narrow leaves, sometimes called needles, are much thinner and have fewer veins. These are the leaves you’d find on coniferous trees. Looking at the shape of a tree’s leaves can help you figure out what kind of tree it is.
Why do plants have larger leaves?
The extra insulation makes it harder for the leaf to extract heat from the surroundings at night. But large leaves can cope in hot, wet, tropical climates because they counteract the daytime heat-trapping effect using transpiration – something desert plants cannot do because they cannot afford to lose that much water.
Why leaves become smaller?
The number of leaves on a plant is fixed mainly by the genetics of the plant which controls the arrangement of leaves on the stem. Plants growing in drought conditions do DECREASE the area of their leaves (the leaves actually shrink). Therefore, to eliminate any stresses on the plants would encourage leaf growth.
What makes plant leaves grow bigger?
Water, air, light, soil nutrients, and the correct temperature for the right plants are the most basic factors to make a plant grow faster and bigger.
What differences would you expect to see in leaves of different sizes?
Small leaves have less total surface area than large leaves, and they lose less water than large leaves. Overheating can also be a problem for large leaved plants in dry, hot environments. Studies have shown that wide leaves heat up more than narrow leaves of the same length.
How do plant leaves vary?
The number and placement of a plant’s leaves will vary depending on the species, with each species exhibiting a characteristic leaf arrangement. Leaves are classified as either alternate, spiral, opposite, or whorled. Plants that have only one leaf per node have leaves that are said to be either alternate or spiral.
Why do leaves have different textures?
Glossy leaf surfaces reflect light in different directions. This gives the effect of even smaller leaf surfaces and therefore makes the leaf look finer textured then if it was dull textured. Dull leaf surfaces absorb light without giving off the effect of highlights.