Medicinal Plants With Adaptation Features

Medicinal plants grow in a variety of habitats. Some have adaptations that enable them to live in a desert while others can thrive in the middle of a pond. Some grow in temperate climates while others are adapted to the frigid Arctic or else to the heat of the tropics. Most grow in soil, but some perch on rocks or trees. In short, their adaptations permit medicinal plants to live almost anywhere.

Water Lilies

• Water lily flowers and rhizomes have long been used in folk medicine. Nymphaea alba, a white water lily, and Nuphar luteum, a yellow water lily, serve as astringents to stanch bleeding in wounds. Water lilies have adaptations that enable them to live in fairly deep pond water. They root themselves in the muddy bottom. Their long stems reach the surface, where the leaves float. The roots cannot obtain oxygen from the anaerobic mud in which they grow, though a remarkable adaptation enables the plants to survive. Air enters the younger leaves and descends to the roots with life-giving oxygen. Then the air ascends once more, carrying away waste gases. The waste-laden air returns to the atmosphere through older leaves.

Prickly Pear Cactus

• The prickly pear cactus reduces blood sugar levels and is a useful medicine for diabetics, Prickly pear cactus, a plant of the genus Opuntia, is a xerophyte, a plant adapted to surviving in dry climates. Its leaves are prickly spines which do not allow water to escape into the atmosphere as ordinary leaves do. Its succulent stem stores a lot of water, so that the plant will have life-giving moisture during prolonged periods of drought. When it rains, shallow roots quickly absorb whatever moisture falls to the ground.

Arctic Willow

• Willow bark is a source of aspirin, so it is not surprising that the Eskimos used Salix arctica, the Arctic willow, to relieve toothache pain. The plant possesses several characteristics that adapt it to Arctic life. Its roots are dense and close to the surface. This adaptation allows them to grow in areas where permanently frozen ground is not too far below the surface. Moreover, the Arctic willow grows close to the ground. As a result, it does not suffer much damage from the fierce winds. Little hairs on the leaves also offer some protection from the Arctic cold.

Dendrobium Nobile

• Traditional Chinese medicine has made use of various orchids of the species Dendrobium, especially Dendrobium nobile. This orchid is admirably adapted to life in a moist tropical forest. It does not grow in the soil, but perches on a tree without harming it. It obtains moisture and minerals from rain and debris that falls upon it.