Mesophytes are terrestrial plants which are neither adapted to particularly dry nor particularly wet environments. An example of a mesophytic habitat would be a rural temperate

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or arti ...

, which might contain

goldenrod Goldenrod is a common name for many species of flowering plants in the sunflower family, Asteraceae, commonly in reference to the genus '' Solidago''. Several genera, such as '' Euthamia'', were formerly included in a broader concept of the gen ...

clover Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus ...

, oxeye daisy, and ''

Rosa multiflora ''Rosa multiflora'' — (syn. ''Rosa polyantha'') is a species of rose known commonly as multiflora rose, baby rose, Japanese rose, many-flowered rose, seven-sisters rose, Eijitsu rose and rambler rose. It is native to eastern Asia, in China, J ...

''. Mesophytes prefer soil and air of moderate humidity and avoid soil with standing water or containing a great abundance of salts. They make up the largest ecological group of terrestrial plants, and usually grow under moderate to hot and humid climatic regions.

Morphological adaptations

Mesophytes do not have any specific morphological adaptations. They usually have broad, flat and green leaves; an extensive fibrous root system to absorb water; and the ability to develop perennating organs such as corms, rhizomes and bulbs to store food and water for use during drought.

Anatomical adaptations

Mesophytes do not have any special internal structure. Epidermis is single layered usually with obvious stomata. Opening or closing of stomata is related to water availability. In sufficient supply of water stromata remain open while in limited supply of water stomata are closed to prevent excessive transpiration leading to wilting.

Properties

Mesophytes generally require a more or less continuous water supply. They usually have larger, thinner leaves compared to

xerophyte A xerophyte (from Ancient Greek language, Greek ξηρός ''xeros'' 'dry' + φυτόν ''phuton'' 'plant') is a species of plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water, such as a desert such as the Sahara or pl ...

s, sometimes with a greater number of stomata on the undersides of leaves. Because of their lack of particular xeromorphic adaptations, when they are exposed to extreme conditions they lose water rapidly, and are not tolerant of drought. Mesophytes are intermediate in water use and needs. These plants are found in average conditions of temperature and moisture and grow in soil that has no water logging. The roots of mesophytes are well developed, branched and provided with a root cap. The shoot system is well organised. The stem is generally aerial, branched, straight, thick and hard. Leaves are thin, broad in middle, dark green and of variable shape and measurement. For example, in hot weather they may overheat and suffer from temperature stress. They have no specific adaptations to overcome this, but, if there is enough water in the soil to allow this, they can increase their rate of

transpiration Transpiration is the process of water movement through a plant and its evaporation from aerial parts, such as leaves, stems and flowers. Water is necessary for plants but only a small amount of water taken up by the roots is used for growth ...

by opening their stomata, thus meaning some

heat In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...

is removed by the evaporating water. However these plants can only tolerate saturated soil for a certain amount of time without a warm temperature. In dry weather they may suffer from water stress (losing more water via transpiration than can be gained from the soil). Again they have no specific adaptations to overcome this, and can only respond by closing their stomata to prevent further transpiration. This does actually have some benefits as it reduces the surface area of the leaves exposed to the

atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A ...

, which reduces transpiration. Prolonged periods of dehydration, however, can lead to permanent wilting, cell plasmolysis, and subsequent

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

. Since mesophytes prefer moist, well drained soils, most crops are mesophytes. Some examples are

corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...

(maize),

cucurbits The Cucurbitaceae, also called cucurbits or the gourd family, are a plant family consisting of about 965 species in around 95 genera, of which the most important to humans are: *''Cucurbita'' – squash, pumpkin, zucchini, some gourds *'' Lagena ...

privet A privet is a flowering plant in the genus ''Ligustrum''. The genus contains about 50 species of erect, deciduous or evergreen shrubs, sometimes forming small or medium-sized trees, native to Europe, north Africa, Asia, many introduced and nat ...

lilac ''Syringa'' is a genus of 12 currently recognized species of flowering woody plants in the olive family or Oleaceae called lilacs. These lilacs are native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and widely and commonl ...

, and oxeye daisy.

References

{{Authority control Plant morphology Plant ecology

Morphological adaptations

Anatomical adaptations

Properties

See also

References