SCIENCE | Grade 4 | Plant Adaptations #1 | Unit 1 - Concept 1 - Lesson 3

In This Lesson
Plant Adaptations
Acacia tree lives in savannah forest in Southern Africa and kapok tree lives in Amazon rainforest of Brazil.
Savannah forest in Southern Africa
- Savannah forest is a grassland habitat.

- The temperature in the savannah forest is mild.

- In the savannah, there is extreme lack of water during the dry season which lasts for half of the year without rainfall.

- Savannah forest is characterized by drought conditions, so most of large plants can't grow.

- When you look over the savannah, you can see one large tree scattered throughout the landscape which is acacia tree (umbrella-shaped tree).

Amazon rainforest of Brazil
- In the rainforest, it is easy to find water, where it is rainy most of the year.

- It is hard for plants in the rainforest to reach sunlight.

- The rainforest has a soggy soil which means that it is a wet muddy soil.

- The rainforest is characterized by strong winds.


- The trees in the rainforest grow up to 70 meters tall, there is a tree that emerges high above other trees which is kapok tree (umbrella-shaped tree).

Adaptation of the two terrific trees to survive in their environments:
1. Acacia tree (umbrella-shaped tree)
• Its habitat:
It grows in savannah forest in Southern Africa.
• Its structural adaptation:

Root
- It has a very long root grows directly downward known as the "taproot".
- This root searches for water as deep as 35 meters below the soil surface.

Trunk
- Its trunk is very long, so most animals except giraffe cannot reach its leaves to feed on.
- Acacia tree stores water in its trunk.

Leaves
- It has tiny leaves growing on its top to help it hold in water, soaking up sunlight needed to make food.
- Its leaves have sharp spines to protect them from hungry mouths of animals.

• Its behavioral adaptation:
Acacia tree can defend itself as follows:
- When an animal begins eating the leaves of the acacia, the tree also begins to produce a poison that makes the leaves taste very bad.

- Then it sends a smelly message in the wind to acacia trees nearby telling
them to start making the same poison.

بالتوفيق
مستر احمد الباشا

SCIENCEGradePlant