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Evolution Connection
Plant Adaptations in Resource-Deficient Environments 
A plant's roots, stems, and leaves are designed so that it can access the necessary amounts of 
oxygen, water, sunlight, and soil nutrients. Plant species have developed some amazing adaptations 
to survive in less-than-ideal environments where one or more of these resources are scarce. 
Due to dense plant growth that prevents much of the sunlight from reaching the forest floor, 
light is frequently scarce in tropical rainforests. To maximize the capture of sunlight, many tropical 
plant species have exceptionally broad leaves. Other species are known as epiphytes, which are plants 
that develop on other plants to provide structural support. These plants can flourish in the more 
abundant sunlight found higher up in the canopy on the branches of other trees. Rain and minerals 
accumulated in the branches and leaves of the supporting plant are the only food sources for 
epiphytes. Tropical epiphytes include ferns, orchids, and bromeliads, which are members of the 
pineapple family (Figure 112). Numerous epiphytes have specialized tissues that allow for effective 
water absorption and storage. 
 
Figure 112.
Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides), one of the most well-known bromeliads, 
can be seen here growing in an oak tree
83
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Some plants have unique adaptations that enable them to live in environments with 
insufficient nutrients. Venus flytraps and pitcher plants, two examples of carnivorous plants (Figure 
83
(credit: KristinePaulus)

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113), thrive in nitrogen-deficient bogs. These plants have altered leaves that are designed to catch 
insects. These plants may have evolved to use the insect-eating leaves as an additional source of 
nitrogen.