Answer Key Texas Plant Diversity
1. Explain one possible advantage of the lechugilla plant having bitter tasting roots.
Answer: The advantage of bitter tasting roots would be that animals would be less likely to eat them and the plant would survive to reproduce.
2. List three ways in which people who lived in the Big Bend country used the native plants.
Answer: Oak trees were used for firewood and furniture. Sotols were used to make baskets. Nolina was used for mats and sandals. Century plants were a food source.
3. Describe three adaptations that help plants survive in the desert.
Answer: The Saguaro Cactus has long roots and stores water in a stem that can grow in size. The Barrel Cactus is pleated and can get bigger around as it stores water in spongy tissue and shrink as it uses the water. White hairs on the Old Man Cactus help it reflect the heat of the sun. The Prickly Pear Cactus has many thorns to keep animals from getting to its stored water.
4. Name one feature these three plants have in common.
Answer: All three plants are eaten by white tailed deer.
5. How does the Desert Christmas Cactus compare to the Prickly Pear Cactus that can be found in the Chihuahuan Desert?
Answer: The Prickly Pear forms large green flat clusters with thorns. The Desert Christmas Cactus forms a tall bush-like structure. They both have red blooms.
6. List two advantages of using native plants around buildings and houses.
Answer: Native plants are well suited to the climate; they already know how to live in that area. Using native plants to build green roofs can help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
7. Which of these flowers are you most likely to see when driving on a Texas highway? Explain why.
Answer: You are most likely to see the state flower, the Texas Bluebonnet. It is planted along the roadsides by the Texas Department of Transportation to slow down erosion.
8. Explain how the original prairie plants have changed since people have settled in Texas.
Answer: The land today that is called prairie usually does not have native plants or original plants on it. The original plants were cleared away to make room for crops, or they were eaten by livestock.
9. Explain how prairie plants survive the periodic fires.
Answer: The prairie plants grow long roots and the fires only burn the top part of the soil.
10. List two foods you have eaten recently (or ones that your mother put on the table that you politely declined!) that are grown in Texas.
Answer: Pecans, cantaloupes, peaches, blueberries, oranges, grapefruit, and corn are all acceptable answers.
11. How do trees get new rings?
Answer: The tree grows a new layer of xylem the water carrying tissue, and phloem, the food-carrying tissue every year.
12. In the summer of 2007, the entire state of Texas received large amounts of rain. Describe what the tree rings from this year will look like in the tree cookie.
Answer: The rings that form in 2007 in the trees will be far apart, because the trees had enough water.
13. Describe the habitat of a pitcher plant.
Answer: Pitcher plants can be found near streams in savannas or bogs. They can also be found growing in deep, white sand.
14. What kinds of human activities threaten the plants in a bog or baygall?
Answer: Logging, or cutting down trees and altering the flow of rivers and streams, or pumping groundwater out of the aquifer, are activities that can threaten bog and baygall plants.
15. What adaptation does the bald cypress have that allows it to survive in standing water?
Answer: The cypress trees grow knees, which are roots that grow up out of the ground.
16. Why are bottomland hardwoods important to places where humans live?
Answer: These areas can store extra water in cases of heavy rain; this keeps places where people live from being flooded. The swamps also act like filters. They allow time for pollutants to settle out of the water before the water moves toward the ocean.
17. List two ways in which sea grasses grow.
Answer: Sea grasses can produce under water flowers that release seeds. They also grow rhizomes, which are shallow roots that can sprout new plants.
18. Why are sea grasses important to ocean animals?
Answer: Sea grass beds are places where ocean animals can hide from predators or lay their eggs where they will be protected.
 

Study Questions Texas Plant Diversity
1. Explain one possible advantage of the lechugilla plant having bitter tasting roots.



2. List three ways in which people who lived in the Big Bend country used the native plants.



3. Describe three adaptations that help plants survive in the desert.



4. Name one feature these three plants have in common.



5. How does the Desert Christmas Cactus compare to the Prickly Pear Cactus that can be found in the Chihuahuan Desert?



6. List two advantages of using native plants around buildings and houses.



7. Which of these flowers are you most likely to see when driving on a Texas highway? Explain why.



8. Explain how the original prairie plants have changed since people have settled in Texas.



9. Explain how prairie plants survive the periodic fires.



10. List two foods you have eaten recently (or ones that your mother put on the table that you politely declined!) that are grown in Texas.



11. How do trees get new rings?



12. In the summer of 2007, the entire state of Texas received large amounts of rain. Describe what the tree rings from this year will look like in the tree cookie.



13. Describe the habitat of a pitcher plant.



14. What kinds of human activities threaten the plants in a bog or baygall?



15. What adaptation does the bald cypress have that allows it to survive in standing water?



16. Why are bottomland hardwoods important to places where humans live?



17. List two ways in which sea grasses grow.



18. Why are sea grasses important to ocean animals?



 

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