Question

Name two plants each that live in the polar regions and tropical rain forest?

Answer 1

Hint: Tropical rainforests are the oldest ecosystem on earth and around 50% of the total population of plants and animals could be found here. However, polar regions that have extreme conditions are home to around 1700 species of plants.

Complete answer:
Let us start by knowing the conditions in these particular areas. Polar plants are those plants that grow and survive in the chilling conditions of the Arctic and Antarctic regions. These plants are either located at the top or on the bottom of the earth. While the hot and humid climate provides ideal conditions for the growth of plants in tropical rainforest areas.

i) Two examples of plants that live in the polar regions are-
- Arctic willow: It is a small shrub that is used as food for caribou, musk oxen and arctic hares. The indigenous people refer to it as a tongue plant as its leaves possess a shape similar to a tongue.
- Arctic poppy: It is around 10-15 cm tall which possesses a single flower per stem. The head part of the flower follows the sun while the cup-shaped petals absorb solar energy.

ii) Two examples of plants that live in tropical rain forest are-
- Orchids: These adapt special roots to capture water and nutrients from the environment. These are mostly epiphytes.
- Rattan palm: There are around 600 species of this plant. These are the vine, long plants that are incapable of supporting themselves and so they wrap around the trees for support.

Note: The tropical rainforest is a habitat for a huge amount of plant species and so these often lead to competition among themselves for sunlight as well as nutrients. Also these plants need to adapt themselves so that they can find a place in the ecosystem for themselves.