Buy essay on Explain how the structural modification helped the Witch Hazel (scientist name Hamamelis Virginiana) adapt to its environment.

As any other plant, the Witch Hazel is vulnerable to changes and adaptations in the course of evolution. In this respect, the environment in which the plant grows has a significant impact on the development and evolution of the plant because the Witch Hazel needs to adapt to the changing environment in order to survive. At the same time, it should be said that the adaptations and structural changes made by the witch Hazel in the course of evolution mirror the spread of the plan in different parts of the world from the place of its origin. In other words, the evolution and structural changes of the plant were, to a significant extent, determined by the change of the environment in which the plant grew or was cultivated.
On analyzing the structural changes and evolution of the Witch Hazel, it should be said that the Witch Hazel is a low growing shrub, which is native to North America (Huxley, 1992). However, in the course of the evolution and development, the Witch Hazel was spread in different parts of the world, especially in East Asia, which was relatively close to North America. At the same time, the appearance of the Witch Hazel in East Asia stimulated structural changes in the plant to adapt to new environment. Otherwise, the Witch Hazel could not survive in East Asia as well as other regions which are not native to the plant. In this respect, it is important to lay emphasis on the fact that it is due to consistent structural changes, the Witch Hazel has changed its structure which allowed the plant to survive and expand its presence in East Asia and other regions beyond North America.
In the course of the evolution of the Witch Hazel and its development, four species of the Witch Hazel emerged respectively to the structural changes that occurred to the plant. On analyzing structural changes in the Witch Hazel, it is possible to trace changes which are common to all species of this plant and which helped the plant to adapt to new environment. In this respect, it is worth mentioning the fact that the plant has simple alternating leaves with wavy edges and bright yellow flowers which appear in the fall.

buy essay

At this point, it is important to stress the simplicity of leaves of the plant and their ability to alternation respectively to the environment. In fact, they can enlarge when the plant receives a large amount of water that nourishes the plant. In such a way, the plant can accumulate water enlarging its leaves.
On the other hand, when the environment changes and the supply of water decreases, the leaves of the plant can alternate becoming smaller and the plant consumes smaller amount of water but the form of the leaves still allows them to absorb as much water as the plant used to in better conditions when the water supply used to be better. Moreover, to increase the survivability of the plant, the Witch Hazel uses an effective mechanism of reproduction. When the fruit and seeds of the flowers ripen, the Witch Hazel pods crack open explosively, ejecting the seeds into the surrounding area (Stewart, 2005). In such a way, the plant increases chances for survival of seeds and reproduction of the plant.
Thus, the Witch Hazel adapted to the changing environment and developed structural changes that helped the plant to change in the new environment.

 

 

 

 

 

References:
Huxley, A. ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. New York: Macmillan.
Stewart, G. (2005). Plants and Evolution. New York: Random House.



Author: essay
Professional custom essay writers.

Leave a Reply