3.3 - Diversity in Plant Nutrition

Nutrition refers to the process of obtaining food to obtain energy and nutrients in organisms. In general, the purposes of nutrition include for growth, maintenance and repair of damaged tissues. Nutritional adaptations vary based on different types of plants.

Nutritional Adaptations of Plants

Parasitic plants

• Live by growing on other plants called hosts.
• Absorb organic substances, minerals and water from their hosts.
• Grow fast and flourish whereas the hosts suffer loss of nutrients, dry and eventually die.

Figure 3 - Example of parasitic plant is Rafflesia sp.

Epiphytic plants

• Green plants which live on their hosts.
• Most of the epiphytic plants have swollen stems that store water.
• Obtain sunlight for photosynthesis by living on taller plants.
• Carry out photosynthesis to produce own food.
• Their hosts do not suffer any kind of nutritional losses.

Figure 4 - Example of epiphytic plant is Asplenium nidus (bird's nest fern).

Carnivorous plants

• Plants that are capable of synthesizing their own food through photosynthesis.
• Secrete nectar and have cups which can trap insects.
• Insects are digested by digestive juice to provide nitrogen to the plants.
• Nitrogen is important for growth because they live in region where this macronutrient is deficient.

Figure 5 - Examples of carnivorous plants are Nepenthes sp. (pitcher plant) (above) and Dionaea muscipula (Venus fly trap) (below).