Plasticity - changes in feature of plants due to environment

 

Plants  are capable of responding  to the environment during their  life and develop different kinds of structures in their morphological feature. This capability of plants  is termed plasticity. Heterophyllous conditions  in leaves of cotton coriander and larkspur are examples of plasticity.

Larkspur shows plasticity in their  shapes of leaves . The shape of leaves differ in juvenile and maturation phase in larkspur. In buttercup there is a difference in the shapes of leaves produced in water and air.

The example of Plant Plasticity due to  environmental factors is also seen in  Buttercup, coriander and cotton.

On the other hand, plasticity refers to the ability of an organism to change its phenotype expression with the different kinds of environment. 

Plasticity is an important factor that makes  plants able  to adapt in their surroundings. Plasticity also  provides fitness  and aloof the  negative impact of the environment on plants..

Due to the plasticity, plants adjust themselves in  a particular environment by making changes in rate of growth, development, and metabolism. It  also promotes the initiation of the cell division from any tissue of the plant and regenerate the lost organs and to undergo several developmental pathways for its survival.Plasticity may be physiological, morphological, and anatomical. These types of plasticity have a different role for development of new  adaptation against the environmental changes. 

The physiological  plasticity promotes the growth  of  plants in  variable environments. Physiological plasticity  develops more capabilities in plants  to give response  against the environmental factor than the  morphological and anatomical plasticity. We can say physiological plasticity has a primary role in a stressful environment  than morphological  plasticity play a secondary role.